Uso do copo e da mamadeira e o aleitamento materno em recém-nascidos prematuros e a termo: uma revisão sistemática.

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]