The relationship between sleeping place, duration of breastfeeding and weaning time in children aged 2-3 years

Due to the importance of breastfeeding and the necessity of identifying the factors affecting the creation and promotion of this behavior, this study aims to determine the relationship between sleeping place, duration of weaning time, and breastfeeding in Children aged 2-3 years.

This study was descriptive and analytical-correlational research in 2021. The participants were 214 children aged 2-3 years old from the health centers of Ramsar city, Iran. The sampling method of the present study was convenient. The tool of the study was a researcher-made questionnaire on infant sleeping places and breastfeeding. The data were entered into SPSS 16 and analyzed using the univariate chi-square test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and analysis of variance(P = 0.05).

Exclusive feeding 69.2% (148 people) of children who were exclusively breastfed and in the usual place of sleep, 36.4% (78 people) of children slept in a shared bed with adults, and 57.5% (123 people) shared a room. However, in a separate bed, 1.6% (13 people) slept in a separate room. The average age of weaning in children sleeping in a shared room in the mother’s bed and next to the mother is 1.27 times and 1.30 times that of children sleeping in a separate room, respectively. The relationship between Infant’s sleeping place and the duration of exclusive breastfeeding (P = 0.005), age of weaning onset (P = 0.007), length of weaning (P = 0.018), and definite age of weaning (P = 0.014) was significant. 56.5% of infants (n = 121) were female, and 56.1% (n = 120) had the first birth rank. Breast milk exclusively fed 69.2% (n = 148) of infants.

The results showed that the place of sleep has a significant relationship with the exclusive feeding of milk and the age at which the child is weaned. The results of this study can be useful in planning interventions to promote exclusive breastfeeding and increase the duration of feeding infants with breast milk.