Breast-feeding in a UK urban context: Who breast-feeds, for how long and does it matter?
Objective: To investigate what factors relate most strongly to breast-feeding duration in order to successfully support breast-feeding mothers. Design: Prospective birth cohort study using questionnaires, routinely collected weights and health check at age 13 months. Setting: Gateshead, UK. Subje...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2006
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35604 |
| _version_ | 1848754541066977280 |
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| author | Wright, C. Parkinson, K. Scott, Jane |
| author_facet | Wright, C. Parkinson, K. Scott, Jane |
| author_sort | Wright, C. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Objective: To investigate what factors relate most strongly to breast-feeding duration in order to successfully support breast-feeding mothers. Design: Prospective birth cohort study using questionnaires, routinely collected weights and health check at age 13 months. Setting: Gateshead, UK. Subjects: Parents of 923 term infants born in a defined geographical area and recruited shortly after birth, 50% of whom were breast-feeding initially. Results: Only 225 (24%) infants were still breast-fed at 6 weeks, although 136 (15%) continued beyond 4 months. Infants in the most affluent quintile were three times more likely to be initially breast-fed (P , 0.001) and five times more likely to still be feeding at 4 months (P ¼ 0.001) compared with infants in the most deprived quintile. A third of breast-fed infants were given supplementary feeds in the maternity unit and this was associated with a 10-fold increase in odds of giving up breast-feeding by discharge (P ¼ 0.001). Frequent feeding was reported as a reason for giving up in 70% of mothers at 6 weeks and 55% at 4 months. Those infants who stopped breastfeeding earliest showed the most rapid weight gain and were tallest at age 13 months. Non-breast-fed infants had 50% more family doctor contacts up to age 4 months (P ¼ 0.005). Conclusions: Initiation of breast-feeding in urban Britain remains strongly determined by socio-economic background and early cessation seems to be related to frequent feeding and rapid growth as well as a continuing failure to eradicate health practices that undermine breast-feeding. Those infants not receiving breast milk suffered increased morbidity, but the apparent association between breast-feeding duration and growth probably reflects reverse causation. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:42:03Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-35604 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:42:03Z |
| publishDate | 2006 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-356042017-09-13T15:25:36Z Breast-feeding in a UK urban context: Who breast-feeds, for how long and does it matter? Wright, C. Parkinson, K. Scott, Jane Objective: To investigate what factors relate most strongly to breast-feeding duration in order to successfully support breast-feeding mothers. Design: Prospective birth cohort study using questionnaires, routinely collected weights and health check at age 13 months. Setting: Gateshead, UK. Subjects: Parents of 923 term infants born in a defined geographical area and recruited shortly after birth, 50% of whom were breast-feeding initially. Results: Only 225 (24%) infants were still breast-fed at 6 weeks, although 136 (15%) continued beyond 4 months. Infants in the most affluent quintile were three times more likely to be initially breast-fed (P , 0.001) and five times more likely to still be feeding at 4 months (P ¼ 0.001) compared with infants in the most deprived quintile. A third of breast-fed infants were given supplementary feeds in the maternity unit and this was associated with a 10-fold increase in odds of giving up breast-feeding by discharge (P ¼ 0.001). Frequent feeding was reported as a reason for giving up in 70% of mothers at 6 weeks and 55% at 4 months. Those infants who stopped breastfeeding earliest showed the most rapid weight gain and were tallest at age 13 months. Non-breast-fed infants had 50% more family doctor contacts up to age 4 months (P ¼ 0.005). Conclusions: Initiation of breast-feeding in urban Britain remains strongly determined by socio-economic background and early cessation seems to be related to frequent feeding and rapid growth as well as a continuing failure to eradicate health practices that undermine breast-feeding. Those infants not receiving breast milk suffered increased morbidity, but the apparent association between breast-feeding duration and growth probably reflects reverse causation. 2006 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35604 10.1079/PHN2005888 Cambridge University Press unknown |
| spellingShingle | Wright, C. Parkinson, K. Scott, Jane Breast-feeding in a UK urban context: Who breast-feeds, for how long and does it matter? |
| title | Breast-feeding in a UK urban context: Who breast-feeds, for how long and does it matter? |
| title_full | Breast-feeding in a UK urban context: Who breast-feeds, for how long and does it matter? |
| title_fullStr | Breast-feeding in a UK urban context: Who breast-feeds, for how long and does it matter? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Breast-feeding in a UK urban context: Who breast-feeds, for how long and does it matter? |
| title_short | Breast-feeding in a UK urban context: Who breast-feeds, for how long and does it matter? |
| title_sort | breast-feeding in a uk urban context: who breast-feeds, for how long and does it matter? |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35604 |