OBJECTIVES: to review randomized clinical trials that investigated breastfeeding prevalence and/or duration at maternity discharge and/or during first year of life, in term or premature infants. The focus was on studies that have included neonates fed by cup or by bottle during their hospital stay. METHODS: authors examined articles published in English or Portuguese between 1996 and 2006, and included on the Medline, Lilacs and Scielo databases. The following keywords were used: "breastfeeding + bottle feeding" plus "prevalence", "feeding methods", "duration", "low birth weight", "premature" and "neonate". RESULTS: five articles met the inclusion criteria. The number of subjects covered ranged from 14 to 686, amounting to a total of 1552 infants. Cup-feeding for breastfeeding supplementation was related to increased breastfeeding prevalence only in term neonates delivered by cesarean, and in premature neonates at discharge. CONCLUSIONS: cup-feeding is likely to have a favorable influence on breastfeeding, however the present revision is not conclusive and definitive.
Infant newborn; Infant, premature; Breast feeding; Wood; Feeding methods
