LATCH Score as a Predictor of Exclusive Breastfeeding at 6 Weeks Postpartum: A Prospective Cohort Study

Introduction: Assessment of breastfeeding efficiency by objective means is essential to increase the success of breastfeeding. Aims and Objectives: To study the utility of LATCH score in predicting exclusive breastfeeding rates at 6 weeks postpartum along with an optimum cutoff between January 2016 and June 2016. Materials and Methods: One hundred mother-infant dyads born of vaginal delivery with gestational age 37 weeks and singleton births were included with LATCH scores assessed at birth and 48 hours/discharge and followed up at 6 weeks postpartum. Results: Sixty-two of 100 (62%) infants were exclusively breastfeeding at 6 weeks. Mean LATCH scores at birth (7.171.13 versus 4.26 +/- 1.7, p=<0.0001) and 48 hours/discharge (9.22 +/- 1.01 versus 5.78 +/- 1.29, p=<0.0001) were higher in mothers who were breastfeeding at 6 weeks. LATCH score 6 at birth had a sensitivity 93.5% and specificity 65.78% and these mothers were 5.92 times more likely to be breastfeeding at 6 weeks. LATCH score 8 at 48 hours/discharge had a sensitivity 93.55% and specificity 92.1% with these mothers being 9.28 times more likely to be breastfeeding at 6 weeks postpartum. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) for LATCH score at birth and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) at 6 weeks had an area under curve (AUC) 0.915 (cutoff 5.5 sensitivity 93.5%, false positive rate34.2%). ROC for LATCH score at 48 hours/discharge and EBF 6 weeks had an AUC 0.979 (cutoff 7.5 sensitivity 93.5%, false positive rate7.9%). Conclusion: LATCH represents a simple, cost-effective tool capable of predicting breastfeeding as early as in the first 24 hours of life, especially in resource-limited settings.