Table 1.
Family and infant characteristics associated with early introduction of core and discretionary foods.
| Characteristics | Core Foods (n = 934) a | Discretionary Foods (n = 900) b | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <17 weeks | ≥17 weeks | <52 weeks | ≥52 weeks | |
| Family Characteristics * | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) |
| Maternal education | ||||
| Left school before 12 | 30 (17.9%) | 138 (82.1%) | 157 (99.4%) | 1 (0.6%) |
| Completed school | 34 (17.7%) | 158 (82.3%) | 182 (97.9%) | 4 (2.1%) |
| College/TAFE | 20 (11.8%) | 150 (88.2%) | 157 (95.1%) | 8 (4.9%) |
| University | 28 (6.9%) | 376 (93.1%) | 362 (92.6%) | 29 (7.4%) |
| Maternal marital status | ||||
| Married | 72 (9.8%) | 662 (90.2%) | 672 (94.8%) | 37 (5.2%) |
| Living with partner | 18 (16.4%) | 92 (83.6%) | 101 (96.2%) | 4 (3.8%) |
| Single | 22 (24.4%) | 68 (75.6%) | 85 (98.8%) | 1 (1.2%) |
| Maternal work status at 17-weeks | ||||
| Not working | 93 (11.3%) | 733 (88.7%) | - | - |
| Casual | 5 (20.0%) | 20 (80.0%) | - | - |
| Part-time | 10 (22.7%) | 34 (77.8%) | - | - |
| Full-time | 4 (10.8%) | 33 (89.2%) | - | - |
| Maternal work status at 52-weeks | ||||
| Not working | - | - | 461 (95.6%) | 21 (4.4%) |
| Casual | - | - | 33 (97.1%) | 1 (2.9%) |
| Part-time | - | - | 209 (94.6%) | 12 (5.4%) |
| Full-time | - | - | 111 (94.1%) | 7 (5.9%) |
| Maternal country of birth | ||||
| Australia born | 65 (14.9%) | 372 (85.1%) | 410 (96.5%) | 15 (3.5%) |
| Other English-speaking countries | 16 (26.7%) | 44 (73.3%) | 52 (89.7%) | 6 (10.3%) |
| Non-English-speaking countries | 31 (7.1%) | 406 (92.9%) | 396 (95.0%) | 21 (5.0%) |
| Partner country of birth | ||||
| Australia born | 52 (14.0%) | 319 (86.0%) | 349 (96.7%) | 12 (3.3%) |
| Other English-speaking countries | 9 (15.5%) | 49 (84.5%) | 48 (85.7%) | 8 (14.3%) |
| Non-English-speaking countries | 33 (7.8%) | 389 (92.2%) | 389 (95.3%) | 19 (4.7%) |
| Index for relative socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage | ||||
| Least disadvantaged | 16 (7.2%) | 205 (92.8%) | 201 (93.9%) | 13 (6.1%) |
| Low disadvantaged | 24 (15.0%) | 136 (85.0%) | 141 (90.4%) | 15 (9.6%) |
| Moderately disadvantaged | 7 (23.3%) | 23 (76.7%) | 27 (90.0%) | 3 (10.0%) |
| Highly disadvantaged | 27 (12.3%) | 193 (87.7%) | 204 (97.1%) | 6 (2.9%) |
| Most disadvantaged | 38 (12.5%) | 265 (87.5%) | 285 (98.3%) | 5 (1.7%) |
| Maternal smoking during pregnancy | ||||
| No | 95 (10.8%) | 785 (89.2%) | 812 (95.5%) | 38 (4.5%) |
| Yes | 16 (30.2%) | 37 (69.8%) | 45 (91.8%) | 4 (8.2%) |
| Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy | ||||
| No | 95 (11.4%) | 737 (88.6%) | 762 (95.0%) | 40 (5.0%) |
| Yes | 16 (16.0%) | 84 (84.0%) | 94 (97.9%) | 2 (2.1%) |
| Parity | ||||
| Primiparous | 57 (12.3%) | 408 (87.7%) | 421 (94.2%) | 26 (5.8%) |
| Multiparous | 55 (11.7%) | 414 (88.3%) | 437 (96.5%) | 16 (3.5%) |
| Infant characteristics | ||||
| Infant gender | ||||
| Male | 59 (12.4%) | 418 (87.6%) | 433 (93.9%) | 28 (6.1%) |
| Female | 53 (11.6%) | 404 (88.4%) | 425 (96.8%) | 14 (3.2%) |
| Infant gestational age | ||||
| Pre-term | 5 (7.1%) | 65 (92.9%) | 64 (97.0%) | 2 (3.0%) |
| Full-term | 107 (12.4%) | 757 (87.6%) | 794 (95.2%) | 40 (4.8%) |
| Infant birth-weight | ||||
| ≥2500g | 106 (12.0%) | 781 (88.0%) | 816 (95.3%) | 40 (4.7%) |
| <2500g | 6 (12.8%) | 41 (87.2%) | 42 (95.45%) | 2 (4.55%) |
| Method of delivery | ||||
| Vaginal | 79 (12.1%) | 573 (87.9%) | 595 (95.0%) | 31 (5.0%) |
| Caesarean | 32 (11.4%) | 249 (88.6%) | 262 (96.0%) | 11 (4.0%) |
| Infant feeding method at 4-weeks age | ||||
| Only breastfeeding | 52 (9.0%) | 523 (91.0%) | 526 (95.0%) | 28 (5.0%) |
| Only formula feeding | 43 (28.3%) | 109 (71.7%) | 140 (96.6%) | 5 (3.4%) |
| Both breastfeeding and formula feeding | 16 (7.8%) | 189 (92.2%) | 190 (95.5%) | 9 (4.5%) |
a,b The total of the categories might not always add up to 934 and 900 due to missing or incomplete data for some item * Maternal age is a continuous variable therefore; the percentages have not been reported. N: sample size. TAFE: Technical and Further Education.