Duration of breastfeeding among first-time mothers in the United States: results of a national survey.

Full Abstract

AIM:
To determine the characteristics of primiparous women who breastfeed for only short periods of time.

METHODS:
The 2002 National Survey of Family Growth was used to analyze the characteristics of a national probability sample of 3229 first-time US mothers aged 15 to 44 y with children ages 1 to 18 y old, 1960 of whom breastfed. Main outcome measures in the cross-sectional study included breastfeeding at birth and at 3 mo as determined by in-person, computer-assisted interviews conducted by trained female interviewers.

RESULTS:
Sixty-two percent of first-time mothers with singleton live births initiated any breastfeeding and 36% were still breastfeeding at 3 mo. Those who were older, married, and at higher educational levels were significantly more likely to continue breastfeeding beyond 3 mo. These same demographic factors were associated with differences in breastfeeding rates both early (within the first week of life) and consistently over the first 3 mo. In multivariate analyses, only educational level remained as a predictor of breastfeeding.

CONCLUSION:
Targeted breastfeeding interventions for young, single, less-educated women are warranted in a culturally sensitive context, both prenatally and immediately postpartum, to improve the duration of breastfeeding among first-time mothers in the US.

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Author information

Author/s: Taylor, Julie Scott (JS); Risica, Patricia Markham (PM); Geller, Lauren (L); Kirtania, Usree (U); Cabral, Howard J (HJ);

Affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. julie_taylor(-atsign-)brown.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) (Acta Paediatr), published in Norway. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Aug; vol 95 (issue 8) : pp 980-4

Dates: Created 2006/08/02; Completed 2007/01/19;

PMID: 16882573, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Breast Feeding - statistics & numerical data
Female
Health Surveys
Humans
Maternal Age

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