Abstract
Objective To determine the risk factors that may affect LATCH scores.
Materials and Methods We prospectively evaluated the LATCH scores and any relevant risk factors of patients
who delivered at our institution during April and May 2020. All examinations were
performed by the same physicians during the study period. LATCH scores were determined
at initial breastfeeding session, and postnatal days 1 and 2.
Results We analyzed 338 patients in this prospective study. Patients with high-risk pregnancies
were found to have lower LATCH scores at each measurement (p: 0.002, 0.001, and 0.09,
respectively). Skin-to-skin contact immediately after delivery and breastfeeding longer
than 20 min in the first session did not improve LATCH scores (p>0.05). Breastfeeding
within 30 min after delivery significantly improved LATCH scores at each session (p<0.01
for all). Odds ratios of having a LATCH score lower than 8 was 10.9 (95% CI: 4.22−28.37)
for the patients breastfed after more than 30 min, while this ratio was 2.17 (95%
CI: 1.34−3.50) and 6.5 (95% CI: 3.46−12.58) for the patients having a high-risk pregnancy
and cesarean section, respectively. Furthermore, we also determined a positive statistically
significant association between parity and all LATCH scores according to regression
analyses (p: 0.005, 0.028, and 0.035 for LATCH scores at initial breastfeeding, postnatal
day 1 and 2, respectively)
Conclusion High-risk pregnancies, patients who delivered by cesarean section, and patients not
attempting to breastfeed within 30 min tend to have lower LATCH scores.
Keywords
breast feeding - fetal lactate - maternity care
