Table 6.
PIM according to the sample characteristics among the mothers who were breastfeeding when leaving the ward for at least 6 months (any type of BF) and among those who were breastfeeding exclusively for less than 5 months (% (n), P values).
| Weaning exclusive BF before 5 months | Weaning any BF before 6 months | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wallonia | Brussels | Wallonia | Brussels | |
| BF prevalence at 5 and 6 months | 17.7% | 38.4% | 29.1% | 55.7% |
| Proportion of PIM | 23.8 (68/286) | 20.7 (70/338) | 23.8 (68/286) | 25.0 (47/188) |
| Predictors | ||||
| BF at maternity ward | ||||
| Exclusive | — | — | 25.7 (61) | 22.4 (35) |
| Partial | 23.5 (8) | 37.9 (11) | ||
| P value | 0.8 | 0.08 | ||
| Mother's education level | ||||
| ≤first 3 years of sec. school | 29.5 (31) | 25.8 (24) | 26.9 (28) | 37.5 (18) |
| Last 3 years of sec. school | 34.4 (21) | 19.4 (18) | 39.2 (20) | 20.0 (11) |
| Higher education | 12.9 (15) | 16.8 (25) | 17.7 (20) | 20.2 (17) |
| P value | 0.001 | 0.3 | 0.01 | 0.05 |
| Father's education level | ||||
| ≤first 3 years of sec. school | 21.5 (23) | 28.9 (24) | 20.8 (21) | 31.3 (15) |
| Last 3 years of sec. school | 37.1 (23) | 18.2 (16) | 40.4 (23) | 28.3 (13) |
| Higher education | 17.5 (17) | 17.4 (25) | 21.7 (20) | 19.5 (16) |
| P value | 0.01 | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.3 |
| Awareness of the WHO recommendations | ||||
| Yes | 12.5 (9) | 22.6 (14) | 13.8 (8) | 21.1 (8) |
| No | 27.6 (59) | 20.3 (56) | 28.6 (61) | 25.8 (42) |
| P value | 0.009 | 0.7 | 0.02 | 0.6 |
| Mother delivery in BFHI | ||||
| Yes | 32.4 (23) | 21.4 (46) | 32.4 (23) | 22.4 (35) |
| No | 21.4 (45) | 19.0 (20) | 21.4 (45) | 37.9 (11) |
| P value | 0.06 | 0.6 | 0.06 | 0.08 |
| Preterm | ||||
| Yes | 53.3 (8) | 20.5 (65) | 53.3 (8) | 24.9 (44) |
| No | 22.1 (60) | 23.5 (5) | 22.1 (60) | 27.3 (3) |
| P value | 0.006 | 0.7 | 0.006 | 1.0 |
Never significant at level 0.05: birth season, attending a MCH, BHFI, infant's sex, and mother's native nationality.