Table 2.
Descriptive statistics: Breastfeeding outcomes by household and maternal characteristics
| Familial and individual factors | 18,234 (N)a | Breastfeeding initiation | Exclusive breastfeeding | Any breastfeedingb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | Yes (%) | ≥3 months (%) | ≥6 months (%) | |
| Household characteristics | ||||
| Household structure | ||||
| Two parents | 15,092 | 73.1 | 20.3 | 20.9 |
| Single parent | 3,142 | 49.0 | 8.1 | 9.3 |
| Household income | ||||
| Highest quintile | 2,907 | 87.0 | 29.9 | 27.3 |
| 2nd highest | 3,168 | 79.2 | 22.7 | 23.3 |
| Middle quintile | 3,444 | 71.3 | 17.0 | 20.0 |
| 2nd lowest | 4,089 | 59.8 | 13.4 | 14.4 |
| Lowest quintile | 4,565 | 50.6 | 9.3 | 10.8 |
| Missing | 61 | 66.2 | 28.4 | 28.1 |
| Household social class | ||||
| Managerial and professional | 6,878 | 83.4 | 27.4 | 27.6 |
| Intermediate | 2,370 | 68.8 | 15.3 | 16.7 |
| Small and self‐employed | 1,071 | 69.4 | 16.7 | 20.5 |
| Low sup. and technical | 1,547 | 62.4 | 11.0 | 10.8 |
| Semiroutine and Routine | 4,887 | 50.6 | 8.7 | 8.9 |
| Never worked | 1,287 | 50.1 | 9.4 | 11.8 |
| Not classifiable | 194 | 66.8 | 14.7 | 21.6 |
| Residential mobility | ||||
| >5 years and over | 4,927 | 69.6 | 19.2 | 21.0 |
| >1 up to 5 years | 9,709 | 71.6 | 19.7 | 19.9 |
| Up to 1 year | 3,558 | 64.0 | 14.2 | 14.8 |
| Missing | 40 | 56.5 | 17.8 | 23.0 |
| Maternal characteristics | ||||
| Age group | ||||
| 12 to 19 | 1,581 | 45.3 | 4.9 | 4.8 |
| 20 to 29 | 8,557 | 65.1 | 13.3 | 14.0 |
| 30 to 39 | 7,710 | 77.5 | 25.3 | 25.9 |
| 40 plus | 383 | 82.9 | 31.2 | 36.9 |
| Missing | 3 | 43.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| General health | ||||
| Excellent | 5,474 | 74.3 | 24.3 | 22.8 |
| Good | 9,563 | 68.4 | 17.4 | 18.9 |
| Fair | 2,669 | 65.0 | 11.4 | 13.5 |
| Poor | 522 | 62.4 | 8.1 | 13.7 |
| Missing | 6 | 71.8 | 15.2 | 15.2 |
| Longstanding illness | ||||
| No | 14,389 | 70.0 | 19.4 | 19.7 |
| Yes | 3,838 | 68.1 | 15.3 | 17.5 |
| Missing | 7 | 73.9 | 35.7 | 35.7 |
| Education | ||||
| NVQ levels 4 and 5 | 5,278 | 87.9 | 30.5 | 31.9 |
| NVQ level 3 | 2,576 | 72.6 | 17.9 | 18.4 |
| NVQ level 2 | 5,279 | 62.7 | 12.9 | 12.7 |
| NVQ level 1 | 1,542 | 51.2 | 6.9 | 7.1 |
| None | 2,974 | 46.6 | 8.3 | 9.8 |
| Overseas qualification | 554 | 75.5 | 23.0 | 25.8 |
| Missing | 31 | 58.5 | 29.2 | 24.8 |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White | 15,284 | 67.5 | 18.0 | 17.8 |
| Mixed | 188 | 86.9 | 29.5 | 30.3 |
| Indian | 470 | 85.4 | 22.6 | 27.6 |
| Pakistani and Bangladeshi | 1,252 | 78.2 | 17.8 | 21.7 |
| Black/Black British | 665 | 92.9 | 22.8 | 36.3 |
| Other ethnic group | 345 | 92.9 | 27.5 | 45.7 |
| Missing | 30 | 71.7 | 30.5 | 29.7 |
Note. Data from the Millennium Cohort Study wave 1: Proportions accounted for the survey design
a
Sample size after exclusion criteria and deletion of missing values on breastfeeding outcomes.
b
Included babies exclusively, predominantly, or partially breastfed.