Breastfeeding: what changed after a decade?1

Áurea Tamami Minagawa Toryiama, Elizabeth Fujimori, Claudia Nery Teixeira Palombo, Luciane Simões Duarte, Ana Luiza Vilela Borges, Christiane Borges do Nascimento Chofakian

to analyze the changes in prevalence, median duration and correlates of breastfeeding in a small city in São Paulo state, Brazil. analysis of two cross-sectional studies, conducted at intervals of one decade, with 261 and 302 children younger than two years, respectively. We used Kaplan-Meier survival analysis for calculation of the median duration of breastfeeding, and Cox regression for correlates analysis, with significance level of 5%. an increase of 33.4% in the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and 20.9% in breastfeeding was identified. Regarding the latter, the median duration increased from 7.2 to 12 months. In the most recent study, the median duration was lower in first-born children who used pacifiers, and it was not associated with breastfeeding incentive actions. advances in the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding were observed during the 10 year-period, however, pacifier use still remains associated to a shorter median duration of breastfeeding. Our findings contribute to highlighting the need for intensification of nursing actions in the promotion of breastfeeding, and discouragement regarding the use of pacifiers.