Objective: To discover the prevalence of maternal lactation in the Manlleu Health Area and the variations in latency since the area was set up to the present day.
Design: Crossover study, based on the record-sheet of the health controls in the clinical notes, of maternal lactation for those recently-born babies monitored in the area between January 1988 and December 1991 (n = 686). SITE. The geographical boundaries of Manlleu Basic Health area (Barcelona).
Main measurements and results: The prevalence of maternal lactation progressively increased from the base of 1988 (lineal tendency chi 2 = 34.3 p < 0.0001). The number of mothers beginning maternal lactation went up from 62% in 1988 to 72% in 1991. Right from the first month duration also increased, but the differences were especially marked between the second and the fifth months (p < 0.05). The average time of lactation also increased, from 92 days in 1988 to over 114 days in 1991 (p = 0.02).
Conclusions: Prevalence and duration of maternal lactation has improved substantially since the setting-up of the Basic Health Area. This improvement could be attributed to the publicity material that we made available at general health check-ups during the first 6 months.