Table 1.
Maternal characteristics by overall sample, feeding type, and feeding intention
| Characteristic | Overall | Feeding type | P ** | Feeding intention | P ** | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBF now EFF | EFF | Combi | I‐EBF | I‐EFF | I‐combi | ||||
| Feeding type/intention (N/%*) | 274 (45.6) | 152 (25.3) | 175 (29.1) | 338 (56.2) | 103 (17.1) | 160 (26.6) | |||
| Maternal age (mean years ± SD) | 29.44 (±5.65) | 29.23 (±5.24) | 28.38 (±6.16) | 30.70 (±5.62) | .001 | 29.05 (±5.58) | 29.60 (±6.22) | 29.58 (±5.52) | .592 |
| Child's age (mean weeks ± SD) | 17.96 (±7.38) | 18.47 (±7.38) | 17.64 (±7.70) | 17.42 (±7.07) | .282 | 17.63 (±7.55) | 16.74 (±7.60) | 18.48 (±7.20) | .090 |
| Country of residence (N/%*) | |||||||||
| UK | 344 (57.2) | 141 (23.4) | 103 (17.1) | 100 (16.6) | .18 | 178 (29.6) | 70 (11.6) | 96 (16.0) | .76 |
| Ireland | 7 (1.2) | 2 (0.3) | 4 (0.7) | 1 (0.2) | 3 (0.5) | 3 (0.5) | 1 (0.2) | ||
| USA | 122 (20.3) | 67 (11.1) | 21 (3.5) | 34 (5.7) | 74 (12.3) | 17 (2.8) | 31 (5.2) | ||
| Australia | 57 (9.5) | 29 (4.8) | 14 (2.3) | 14 (2.3) | 34 (5.7) | 8 (1.3) | 15 (2.5) | ||
| New Zealand | 22 (3.7) | 10 (1.6) | 3 (0.5) | 9 (1.5) | 15 (2.5) | 1 (0.2) | 6 (1.0) | ||
| Canada | 30 (5.0) | 13 (2.2) | 6 (1.0) | 11 (1.8) | 20 (3.3) | 3 (0.5) | 7 (1.2) | ||
| Other European | 12 (2.0) | 9 (1.5) | 1 (0.2) | 2 (0.3) | 9 (1.5) | 0 (0) | 3 (0.5) | ||
| Other world | 7 (1.1) | 3 (0.5) | 0 (0) | 4 (0.7) | 5 (0.8) | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.2) | ||
| Birth order (N/%*) | |||||||||
| 1st | 370 (61.6) | 168 (28) | 82 (13.6) | 120 (20) | .091 | 238 (39.6) | 39 (6.5) | 93 (15.5) | <.001 |
| 2nd | 167(27.8) | 80 (13.3) | 51 (8.5) | 36 (60) | 69 (11.5) | 44 (7.3) | 54 (9) | ||
| 3rd | 38 (6.3) | 18 (3) | 8 (1.3) | 12 (2) | 20 (3.3) | 8 (1.3) | 10 (1.7) | ||
| 4th | 15 (2.5) | 5 (0.8) | 7 (1.2) | 3 (0.5) | 6 (1) | 8 (1.3) | 1 (0.2) | ||
| 5th and after | 11 (1.8) | 3 (0.3) | 4 (0.7) | 4 (0.7) | 5 (0.8) | 4 (0.7) | 2 (0.3) | ||
| Marital status (N/%*) | |||||||||
| Married | 381 (63.4) | 190 (31.8) | 74 (12.4) | 117 (19.6) | <.001 | 217 (36.3) | 60 (10.1) | 104 (17.4) | .272 |
| Living with a partner | 174 (29) | 70 (11.7) | 55 (9.2) | 49 (8.2) | 91(15.2) | 33 (5.5) | 50 (8.4) | ||
| Divorced | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0) | ||
| Separated | 4 (0.7) | 1 (0.2) | 2 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | 2 (0.2) | 1 (0.2) | 1(0.3) | ||
| Single | 37 (29) | 11 (1.8) | 19 (3.2) | 7 (1.2) | 24 (0.8) | 8 (1.3) | 5 (4) | ||
| Occupation (N/%*) | |||||||||
| Managers, directors, and senior officials | 42 (7) | 16 (2.7) | 6 (1) | 20 (3.3) | .058 | 32 (3.8) | 3 (0.5) | 16 (2.7) | .112 |
| Professional occupations | 216 (35.9) | 99 (16.5) | 46 (7.7) | 71 (11.8) | 132 (22) | 36 (6) | 48(8) | ||
| Associate professional and technical occupations | 16 (2.7) | 8 (1.3) | 2 (0.3) | 6 (1) | 11 (1.8) | 2 (0.3) | 3 (0.5) | ||
| Administrative and secretarial occupations | 67 (11.1) | 32 (5.3) | 18 (3) | 17 (2.8) | 38 (6.3) | 22 (12) | 7 (3.7) | ||
| Skilled trades occupations | 18 (3.0) | 11 (1.8) | 3 (0.5) | 4 (0.7) | 8 (1.3) | 3 (0.5) | 7 (1.2) | ||
| Caring, leisure and other service occupations | 64 (10.6) | 30 (5) | 18 (3) | 16 (2.7) | 36 (6) | 11 (1.8) | 17 (2.8) | ||
| Sales and customer service occupations | 88 (14.6) | 39 (6.5) | 30 (5) | 19 (3.2) | 50 (8.3) | 22 (2.7) | 16 (3.7) | ||
| Process, plant and machine operatives | 2 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.2) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.2) | ||
| Elementary occupations | 11 (1.8) | 3 (0.5) | 2 (0.3) | 6 (1) | 7 (1.2) | 3 (0.2) | 1 (0.5) | ||
| Not in paid occupation | 77 (12.8) | 35 (5.8) | 27 (4.5) | 15 (2.5) | 32 (5.3) | 24 (4) | 21 | ||
Note. EBF = exclusive breastfeeding; EFF = exclusive formula feeding; combi = combination feeding (all types); I‐EBF = exclusive breastfeeding intention; I‐EFF = exclusive formula feeding intentions; I‐combi = combination feeding intention (all types).
*
Percentages are given in reference to the whole sample.
**
Group differences ascertained by one‐way analysis of variance or χ2 tests.
P‐value refers to the difference between all the options presented.