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Journal of Human Lactation, Vol. 22, No. 4, 391-397 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0890334406293161

The LATCH Scoring System and Prediction of Breastfeeding Duration

Savitri P. Kumar, MD, FAAP

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI

Roberta Mooney, RN, MS

Linda J. Wieser, PT, MA, IBCLC

St Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI

Suzanne Havstad, MA

Department of Biostatistics and Research Epidemiology at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI

This study aimed to determine whether LATCH scores assessed by professional staff during in-hospital stays are predictive of breastfeeding at 6 weeks. Participants were English-speaking breastfeeding women, 18 years or older, with healthy singletons. LATCH scores were obtained once every 8 hours on day 1 and daily subsequently until discharge. Data were obtained from hospital charts and telephone interviews on day 4 and week 6 postdelivery. At 6 weeks, 188 of 248 (76%) women were contacted and 66.5% were breastfeeding. LATCH scores were higher among women breastfeeding than those who had weaned. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, a score of 9 or above at 16 to 24 hours was the most discriminate of the 5 time periods examined (area under the ROC curve = 0.72). Furthermore, women who met this criterion were 1.7 times more likely to be breastfeeding at 6 weeks than women with lower scores. The LATCH assessment tool is a modest predictor of breastfeeding duration.

Key Words: breastfeeding • LATCH score • breastfeeding duration


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