Purpose: To describe the characteristics of mothers and children and to evaluate the factors associated with discontinuation of exclusive breastfeeding.
Methods: A cross-sectional study on infants under six months of age who attended the vaccination campaign in 2008. In the sample design, vaccination units were selected by drawing lots and infants were similarly selected later at each unit systematically. A semi-structured instrument was used for data collection, containing questions about children's nutrition and socio-demographic characteristics. We used Odds Ratio and the χ² test for data analysis, accepting as the critical level p<0.05.
Results: The prevalence of breastfeeding for infants under 120 and 180 days of age was 89.5 and 85% respectively, and exclusive breastfeeding was 50.6 and 39.7% for infants less than 120 and 180 days of age, respectively. The factors most related to the abandonment of exclusive breastfeeding in infants under six months were maternal employment outside the home (OR=2.73; 95%CI=1.74-4.29) and use of pacifiers (OR=4.26; 95%CI=2.85-6.38). The mother being multiparous (OR=0.57; 95%CI=0.40-0.81) and receiving postpartum care in the public health care network (OR=0.55; 95%CI=0.39-0.79) represented protective factors against the practice of early cessation of breastfeeding.
Conclusions: The prevalence of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding in the municipality of Uberlândia is among the highest in the country and the factors most often associated with the practice of early weaning were maternal employment outside the home, offering pacifiers to the infants, receiving postpartum care in the private health sector, and primiparity.