An observational study in Breast Feeding, Exclusive, sponsored by Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne. Recruiting at 1 site in French Guiana. Open to female participants, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-08.
Sponsored by Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne · Observational
The first months of life are considered a critical period that has a lasting impact on a child's future health.
Breastfeeding is one of the fundamental factors contributing to healthy growth in children. It is reducing infant mortality, and supporting neurocognitive development.
As part of the Nutri Pou Ti'moun program, a study on breastfeeding practices was conducted in French Guiana in 2024 to assess the current state of affairs.
A complementary qualitative study of 15 mothers in situations of multidimensional vulnerability revealed barriers to exclusive breastfeeding, such as the perception of a lack of milk, the newborn's perceived refusal to breastfeed, or a lack of support from family and friends.
The findings of these 2 studies encourage the investigators to support mothers in their choice to breastfeed from the moment they give birth, so that infant feeding practices align more closely with national and international recommendations and are as beneficial as possible for the child's health.
The objective of this study is to compare the rate of exclusive breastfeeding at 1 month between women who received the intervention (exposed group) and those who did not (unexposed group).
The study hypothesis is that the health intervention will improve the rate of exclusive breastfeeding.
The first months of life are considered a critical period that has a lasting impact on a child's future health.
Breastfeeding is one of the fundamental factors contributing to healthy growth in children. Its benefits are well established in the literature in terms of preventing infections, reducing infant mortality, and supporting neurocognitive development.
As part of the Nutri Pou Ti'moun program, a study on breastfeeding practices was conducted in French Guiana in 2024 to assess the current state of affairs. Between March and October 2024, 382 mother-child pairs were included in this study. The results revealed that the majority of mothers had breastfed their children (91.6%) during the first year of life, but only 1 in 2 mothers had breastfed exclusively. Nearly 40% practiced mixed feeding upon discharge from the maternity ward. The study revealed that one in two women had received breastfeeding support from healthcare professionals at the maternity ward. This support tended to have a positive impact on the continuation of breastfeeding beyond 6 months. The use of formula milk supplements during the hospital stay, however, had a negative impact on the continuation of exclusive breastfeeding for at least 4 months.
A complementary qualitative study of 15 mothers in situations of multidimensional vulnerability revealed barriers to exclusive breastfeeding, such as the perception of a lack of milk, the newborn's perceived refusal to breastfeed, or a lack of support from family and friends.
These findings therefore encourage the investigators to support mothers in their choice to breastfeed from the moment they give birth, so that infant feeding practices align more closely with national and international recommendations and are as beneficial as possible for the child's health.
Furthermore, the sociodemographic characteristics of pregnant and breastfeeding women in French Guiana, as revealed by previous studies, highlight numerous vulnerabilities: one in three women experiences food insecurity during pregnancy; 12.5% of pregnancies occur before the age of 20 (compared to 1.3% in mainland France); 26% of pregnancies are not covered by PUMa, and 39% have a high multidimensional vulnerability index (compared to 5.3% in mainland France). Thus, the context of high vulnerability in perinatal care in French Guiana calls for the implementation of measures to combat social health inequalities. Health mediation is one such measure.
The investigators therefore propose the early integration of health mediation around childbirth in maternity wards.
The objective of this study is to compare the rate of exclusive breastfeeding at 1 month between women who received the intervention (exposed group) and those who did not (unexposed group).
The study hypothesis is that the health intervention will improve the rate of exclusive breastfeeding.
1,081 studies on the registry are indexed under Breast Feeding; 217 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 960 is above the median of 158 across 207 observational studies indexed under Breast Feeding.
Browse Breast Feeding studies →Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne is the lead sponsor of 47 studies on the registry; 9 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Women who gave birth at the French Guiana University Hospital Center
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
women who received health mediation services
Other: postpartum breastfeeding support from a health mediator
women who did not receive health mediation services
Other: routine health care without health mediation
This pilot mediation program consists of the following activities: * Supporting healthcare teams in providing postpartum care for women, particularly those in vulnerable situations. * Providing in-room support to women to assist them with breastfeeding in collaboration with the healthcare teams. The content of the support is tailored to the woman's needs and follows national guidelines. This support may be provided multiple times during the hospital stay. This individual in-room support is provided at the request of the woman and/or the healthcare team. The initial request and the content of the intervention are recorded in the woman's electronic medical record. * Participate weekly in the childbirth and parenting preparation workshop on breastfeeding, organized by the maternity ward and led by midwives and/or childcare assistants.
routine health care for postpartum breastfeeding
Rate of exclusive breastfeeding at 1 month postpartum in the group of women who received health mediation support (exposed group) and in the group of women who did not receive such support (unexposed group).
Measurement of the rate of exclusive breastfeeding using a questionnaire administred to mothers included in the study
Time frame: 1 month
Rate of exclusive breastfeeding
Measurement of the rate of exclusive breastfeeding through a questionnaire administred to mothers
Time frame: 1 month; 3 months
Duration of exclusive breasfeeding
Measurement of the duration of breastfeeding through a questionnaire administred to mothers
Time frame: 1 month; 3 months
Characteristics of the exposed group, including socioeconomic and medical data and the level of health literacy.
Description of the socioeconomics data through a questionnaire administred to mothers, and collection of medical data in the electronic medical records
Time frame: At enrollment
Level of satisfaction within the maternity ward
Score of satisfaction based on answers to a questionnaire administred to mothers included in the study within the maternity ward
Time frame: At enrollment
Level of support for breastfeeding
Score of level of support to encourage breastfeeding obtained through a questionnaire administred to mothers included in the study
Time frame: At enrollment
Differences in breastfeeding rates measured in the MediMAT study compared to those measured in the ANJE Nutri study
Calculation of breastfeeding rate calculated in the MediMAT study and comparison with breastfeeding rate calculated in the ANJE Nutri study
Time frame: 1 month; 3 months
"Self-efficacy" in relation to breastfeeding
Measurement of "self-efficacy" in relation to breastfeeding through a questionnaire administred to mothers
Time frame: 1 month
Difference of feasibility of the integration of mediation into their service.
Measurement of the difference of feasibility of the integration of mediation into their services through a questionnaire administred to healthcare staff
Time frame: At study start and at the end of enrollment in the study (May 2026 and May 2027)
Changes in patients' breastfeeding practices, in the postpartum period and one year after the integration of mediation in the postpartum period.
Measurement of changes in patients' breastfeeding practices, one year after the integration of mediation in the postpartum period through a questionnaire administred to mothers
Time frame: 12 months
Changes in professional practices for supporting patients before the integration of mediation during postpartum period in the service, and one year after the integration of mediation
Measurement of changes in professional practices for supporting patients before the integration of mediation during postpartum period in the service, and one year after the integration of mediation, through a questionnaire administred to healthcare professionals
Time frame: Before the integration of the mediation in the postpartum in the service and 12 months after the integration
Plan to share: No
Started May 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for May 2029, 36 months after the start.
Of 86 non-industry observational studies under Breast Feeding, half reached primary completion within 31 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 19 and three quarters within 54. This study's planned 36 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 96 studies reached it within 33 months; a quarter within 19 and three quarters within 73.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
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Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne