Couples' relationships and breastfeeding: is there an association?

One hundred fifty-three Brazilian families with 4-month-old infants--51 cases (breastfeeding had ceased) and 102 controls (breastfeeding maintained)--were recruited to verify if a problematic couple relationship is associated with early breastfeeding termination. The relationships of the 118 cohabiting couples were assessed by clinical interviews and the Global Assessment of Relational Functioning and Beavers-Timberlawn scales, examining marital and parental functions, parents' satisfaction with the quality of care each partner provided to their infants, mothers' opinions of paternal breastfeeding support, and interviewers' assessments of paternal breastfeeding support and involvement in the infants' care. The quality of a couple relationship was not associated with the interruption of breastfeeding before 4 months postpartum. However, a good couple relationship was associated with more paternal breastfeeding support (P < .01) and involvement in the infant's care (P < .0001).