Randomised trial of sidecar crib use on breastfeeding duration (NECOT).

Objective: To determine whether the use of sidecar cribs on the postnatal ward affects breastfeeding duration.

Design: A randomised non-blinded parallel trial comparing sidecar cribs with standalone cots.

Setting: Postnatal wards of the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Participants: 1204 pregnant women intending to breastfeed were recruited at 20 weeks' gestation and randomised at 34 weeks to use either a sidecar crib attached to their bed (n=601) or a standalone cot adjacent to their bed (n=603).

Main Outcome Measures: Duration of any, and exclusive, breastfeeding up to 26 weeks obtained by telephone follow-up.

Results: 334 mothers were withdrawn or lost to follow-up from the trial; infant feeding data were therefore obtained for 870 mothers (433 intervention; 437 controls). Using an intention-to-treat Cox regression analysis, no significant difference was found between the two groups for duration of any breastfeeding (sidecar crib vs cot, hazard ratio (HR) 0.96, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.18), or exclusive breastfeeding (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.16) adjusting for maternal age, education, previous breastfeeding and delivery type. Bed sharing was not significantly more common in mothers randomised to sidecar cribs (67% vs 64%, adjusted difference 2.8%, 95% CI -3.5% to 9.0%). There were no adverse events.

Conclusion: The use of sidecar cribs for mothers and infants did not improve the duration of any or exclusive breastfeeding, or frequency of bed sharing at home.