Table 3.
Unadjusted Mean Differences in Outcomes by Breastfeeding History
| Outcome | Ever Breastfed versus Never | 0–3 Months versus Never | 3–6 Months versus Never | 6–9 Months versus Never | 9–12 Months versus Never | 12–24 Months versus Never | Over 24 Months versus Never |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Full sample | |||||||
| BMI | −0.77 | −0.45 | −0.83 | −0.88 | −1.13 | −0.99 | −0.88 |
| Overweight or at risk of overweight | −0.054 | −0.024 | −0.064 | −0.065 | −0.087 | −0.068 | −0.049 |
| Overweight | −0.030 | −0.016 | −0.033 | −0.041 | −0.049 | −0.025 | −0.032 |
| Diabetes | −0.002 | −0.001 | −0.004 | −0.001 | −0.003 | −0.001 | −0.005 |
| Asthma | 0.003 | −0.011 | 0.021 | 0.011 | −0.001 | −0.006 | 0.013 |
| Allergies | 0.029 | 0.025 | 0.044 | 0.029 | 0.031 | 0.018 | 0.011 |
| GPA (0–4 scale) | 0.19 | 0.10 | 0.18 | 0.26 | 0.32 | 0.23 | 0.28 |
| PVT score (percentile) | 4.9 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 5.8 | 4.4 |
| Held back a grade | −0.10 | −0.07 | −.09 | −0.13 | −0.13 | −0.12 | −0.11 |
| Likely to go to college (per the child) | 0.09 | 0.06 | 0.08 | 0.13 | 0.10 | 0.11 | 0.05 |
| Depression index (percentile) | −4.0 | −2.9 | −3.3 | −4.7 | −6.3 | −5.0 | −3.7 |
| Mother reports feeling close to child | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.05 | 0.04 |
| Child reports feeling close to mother | −0.05 | −0.03 | −0.04 | −0.08 | −0.07 | −0.08 | −0.09 |
| Child says mother warm and loving | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.01 | −0.00 |
| High number of activities w/mother | 0.016 | 0.010 | 0.015 | 0.018 | 0.024 | 0.021 | 0.023 |
| (b) Sibling sample | |||||||
| BMI | −0.63 | −0.39 | −0.93 | −0.40 | −0.46 | −1.16 | −0.91 |
| Overweight or at risk of overweight | −0.031 | −0.007 | −0.066 | 0.001 | −0.040 | −0.054 | −0.113 |
| Overweight | −0.015 | −0.008 | −0.028 | −0.007 | 0.002 | −0.039 | −0.007 |
| Diabetes | −0.004 | −0.004 | −0.004 | −0.002 | −0.007 | −0.007 | −0.007 |
| Asthma | −0.012 | −0.001 | 0.015 | 0.040 | 0.003 | 0.036 | −0.054 |
| Allergies | 0.045 | 0.046 | 0.055 | 0.055 | −0.016 | 0.105 | −0.150 |
| GPA (0–4 scale) | 0.24 | 0.12 | 0.21 | 0.32 | 0.36 | 0.36 | 0.53 |
| PVT score (percentile) | 5.7 | 3.6 | 5.8 | 7.4 | 6.7 | 8.0 | 8.6 |
| Held back a grade | −0.12 | −0.09 | −0.12 | −0.17 | −0.11 | −0.16 | −0.19 |
| Likely to go to college (per the child) | 0.11 | 0.08 | 0.11 | 0.13 | 0.06 | 0.18 | 0.31 |
| Depression index (percentile) | −4.7 | −3.5 | −4.7 | −7.7 | −3.1 | −5.2 | −13.2 |
| Mother reports feeling close to child | 0.02 | −0.03 | 0.000 | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.17 |
| Child reports feeling close to mother | −0.05 | 0.00 | −0.05 | −0.08 | −0.10 | −0.12 | −0.06 |
| Child says mother warm and loving | 0.01 | 0.03 | −0.03 | −0.01 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.04 |
| High number of activities w/mother | 0.024 | 0.025 | 0.021 | 0.037 | 0.012 | 0.026 | 0.031 |
Notes: Boldface indicates significance level >0.10. “Overweight” defined as BMI>95th percentile; “at risk of overweight” defined as BMI between 85th and 95th percentiles. GPA, grade point average; PVT, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test; BMI, body mass index