Kruger, EsedraKritzinger, Alta M. (Aletta Margaretha)Pottas, Lidia2020-11-172020-11-172019-09Krüger EE, Kritzinger AAM, Pottas LL. Breastfeeding skills of full-term newborns and associated factors in a low-and-middle-income setting. African Health Sciences 2019;19(3): 2670-2678. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i3.43.1680-6905 (print)1729-0503 (online)10.4314/ahs.v19i3.43http://hdl.handle.net/2263/77056BACKGROUND : Normative information on the breastfeeding of term newborns may guide clinicians in early identification of breastfeeding difficulties and oro-pharyngeal dysphagia (OPD), and may support optimal breastfeeding practices. OBJECTIVE : To describe breastfeeding skills of term newborn infants in a South African hospital, a lower-middle-income setting, and investigate associations between infants’ feeding and other factors. Method: One breastfeeding session of each of the 71 healthy newborn full-term infants (mean chronological age=1.9 days; mean gestation=39.1 weeks) was evaluated using the Preterm Infant Breastfeeding Behavior Scale (PIBBS), suitable for use with term newborns. RESULTS : All participants were exclusively breastfed. Thirteen participants (18%) were HIV-exposed. There was no significant difference in the findings of the PIBBS between HIV-exposed and unexposed participants. Most newborns had obvious rooting, latched deeply onto the nipple and some of the areola, had repeated long sucking bursts (mean length=16.82 sucks/burst), and swallowed repeatedly. Most participants were in either the drowsy or quiet-alert state, which are optimal behavioural states for breastfeeding. One to two-hourly on-demand feeds was significantly associated with mothers who had normal births and did not use galactogogues to promote lactation. CONCLUSION : Results may be used for early identification of OPD in newborns. The findings may be useful to primary care clinicians.en© 2019 Krüger et al. Licensee African Health Sciences. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative commons Attribution License.Full-termNewbornBreastfeedingFeeding skillsFeeding characteristicsNormative dataArticle