Post-discharge phone calls were made on day four and at week six. Each participant was asked if she was still breastfeeding at the time of the phone call. For data analysis, exclusive and partial were combined as "breastfeeding," whereas token and none were combined as "not breastfeeding." Telephone interviews could be conducted for 182 (73%) participants on day four and 188 (76%) at six weeks. The results showed that LATCH scores were higher among women breastfeeding than those who had weaned. Using receiver operating characteristic curves, a score of 9 or above at 16 to 24 hours was the most discriminate of the 5 time periods examined. In addition, mothers who met this criterion were 1.7 times more likely to be breastfeeding at six weeks than women with lower scores. The authors concluded that the LATCH assessment tool is a modest predictor of breastfeeding duration.

In their discussion, the researchers stated that the LATCH scoring system is a simple and useful tool, capable of predicting breastfeeding duration as early as the first 24 hours of life. Low LATCH scores indicate the need for active intervention, support, and post-discharge follow-up. Frequent evaluations, starting in the delivery...

In the present health care climate, where breastfeeding is being strongly promoted but early hospital discharge is the norm, the utility of this tool is underscored. Use of the LATCH tool will assist caregivers to focus on those women with low scores, who are at risk for early weaning.
The strength of this study was that there were two follow ups to the initial positive results in the hospital -- both at four days and six weeks. Six weeks with breastfeeding is a considerable time to continue in this practice. However, there appears to be a number of different variables that were not addressed. Women go into delivery with degrees of emotional states that can impact how well they learn or want to learn latching in the hospital setting. Some women are more favorable toward breastfeeding than others. Also, some infants are more prone to latch on quickly than others. In addition, some instructors are better at educating new mothers than others; how well the instructor and mother are able to communicate is a factor in the ability to learn.

It seems that studies such as this should be conducted again with other factors taken into consideration of…