Objectives: To identify the prevalence of breast-feeding at discharge and the determinants of breast-feeding initiation amongst Aboriginal women. Design: A prospective cohort study using a self-administered baseline questionnaire and telephone-administered follow-up interviews. Setting: Six hospitals with maternity wards in Perth, Western Australia. Subjects: Four hundred and twenty-five Aboriginal mothers of newborn infants. Results: At discharge, 89.4% of Aboriginal mothers were breast-feeding. Breastfeeding at discharge was most positively associated with perceived paternal support of breast-feeding, with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 6.65 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.81-15.74), and with maternal age (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.03 -1.22), but negatively associated with parity and having delivered vaginally. Conclusion: The factors independently associated with breast-feeding at discharge were similar to those previously identified for a group of non-Aboriginal Perth women, suggesting that separate breast-feeding interventions specially targeted at Aboriginal women are not warranted. The findings do, however, highlight the importance of including the father in the breast-feeding discussions.

Objective:  To document the breastfeeding practices of Aboriginal mothers delivering in Perth. Design and methods:  A cohort of mothers was followed from the time of delivery for six months to obtain details of infant feeding practices. Subjects:  A total of 455 mothers delivered during the study period and were asked to participate. A total of 425 mothers completed the initial questionnaire. Setting:  The study was undertaken in six public hospitals in Perth, Western Australia. Data analyses:  The data were analysed using spss. Breastfeeding duration was calculated using Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. Main outcome measures:  Breastfeeding initiation and duration. Results:  The mean age of the Aboriginal mothers was 21.8 years (range 14–39 years, SD 5.32) and the average gestational age was 38.3 weeks. Almost 50% of the mothers in the study delivered by Caesarean section. At discharge from hospital 89.4% (CI 86.6–92.1) of mothers were breastfeeding, declining to 58.8% (CI 53.5–64.1) at six months. When compared with non‐Aboriginal mothers, the Aboriginal breastfeeding rates were higher than the non‐Aboriginal average breastfeeding rates, but lower than the highest socioeconomic group. Conclusions:  The breastfeeding rates of Aboriginal mothers are higher than for other Australians. This is despite the low maternal age and level of education and the high rates of low‐birth‐weight infants and Caesarean section among this population. The World Health Organization recommendation for infant feeding is exclusive breastfeeding until six months, but less than one‐third of Aboriginal mothers achieved this recommendation.

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Objective: To document the smoking practices of Aboriginal mothers living in Perth during pregnancy and during the subsequent year while feeding their infants.

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