Table 2: Characteristics of the 4533 women in the study cohort.
| Characteristic | No. (%) of women* | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| All n = 4533 |
Initiated breastfeeding n = 2907 |
Did not initiate breastfeeding n = 1626 |
|
| Maternal age, yr | |||
| < 20 | 326 (7.2) | 143 (4.9) | 183 (11.3) |
| 20–24 | 961 (21.2) | 548 (18.9) | 413 (25.4) |
| 25–29 | 1333 (29.4) | 864 (29.7) | 469 (28.8) |
| 30–34 | 1278 (28.2) | 899 (30.9) | 379 (23.3) |
| ≥ 35 | 635 (14.0) | 453 (15.6) | 182 (11.2) |
| Maternal education | |||
| Less than high school | 472 (12.3) | 188 (7.5) | 284 (21.3) |
| High school diploma | 1223 (31.8) | 671 (26.8) | 552 (41.4) |
| College diploma | 836 (21.8) | 571 (22.8) | 265 (19.9) |
| University degree | 1309 (34.1) | 1075 (42.9) | 234 (17.5) |
| Marital status | |||
| Single† | 1328 (36.3) | 707 (29.2) | 621 (50.2) |
| Married | 2332 (63.7) | 1717 (70.8) | 615 (49.8) |
| Prepregnancy BMI | |||
| Underweight | 128 (4.5) | 69 (3.7) | 59 (6.1) |
| Normal weight | 1327 (46.9) | 877 (47.2) | 450 (46.3) |
| Overweight | 685 (24.2) | 474 (25.5) | 211 (21.7) |
| Obese | 689 (24.4) | 438 (23.6) | 251 (25.9) |
| Smoking status | |||
| Nonsmoker during pregnancy | 2831 (67.0) | 2035 (75.2) | 796 (28.1) |
| Quit during pregnancy | 352 (8.3) | 234 (8.6) | 118 (7.8) |
| Smoker at admission for delivery | 1040 (24.6) | 438 (16.2) | 602 (39.7) |
| Intention to breastfeed | |||
| Yes | 2800 (69.3) | 2541 (94.6) | 259 (19.1) |
| No | 1243 (30.7) | 145 (5.4) | 1098 (80.9) |
| Primiparous mothers | 1889 (41.7) | 1319 (45.4) | 570 (35.1) |
| Type of delivery | |||
| Cesarean | 1245 (27.5) | 813 (28.0) | 432 (26.6) |
| Vaginal | 3288 (72.5) | 2094 (72.0) | 1194 (73.4) |
| Preconception folic acid supplementation | 965 (34.4) | 743 (40.7) | 222 (22.7) |
| Early breast contact (within 1 h after birth) | 1140 (39.9) | 1107 (52.1) | 33 (4.5) |
Note: BMI = body mass index. *Denominators for percentages do not include missing values. †Includes single, divorced, widowed and separated mothers.