Breastfeeding following in vitro fertilisation in Switzerland—Does mode of conception affect breastfeeding behaviour?

Abstract

Aim Breastfeeding has numerous advantages. Our aim was to investigate whether breastfeeding initiation and duration in women with pregnancies conceived through in vitro fertilisation differ from spontaneously conceived pregnancies. Methods This is a comparative cross‐sectional study about breastfeeding behaviour performed at the Bern university hospital including mothers of singletons conceived by in vitro fertilisation (n = 198) with or without gonadotropin stimulation between 2010 and 2016 (in vitro fertilisation group). They were compared to a population‐based control group (n = 1421) of a randomly selected sample of mothers in Switzerland who delivered in 2014. Results A total of 1619 women were included in this analysis. Breastfeeding initiation rates were high, similar between the in vitro fertilisation group (93.4%) and the control group (94.8%). No increased risk of stopping breastfeeding earlier after in vitro fertilisation treatment compared to the control group could be found over the observational period of 12 months (HR=1.00, 95% CI 0.83‐1.20, p=0.984). There was no difference in breastfeeding initiation or duration after gonadotropin stimulated versus unstimulated in vitro fertilisation. Conclusion In Switzerland, in vitro fertilisation treatments were not associated with earlier breastfeeding cessation. This result is reassuring for mothers undergoing in vitro fertilisation.