Table 1.
Breastfeeding continuation at 6 months among ever‐breastfed infants, according to maternal and neonatal characteristics
| Infants (N) | Unweighted (%) | Weighted (%) | Breastfed until 6 months weighted rates (%) | Unadjusted RR [95% CI] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 3217 | 34.4 | |||
| Maternal age (years) | |||||
| <25 | 351 | 10.9 | 11.0 | 20.9 | 0.60 [0.48–0.75] |
| 25–34 | 1925 | 60.0 | 60.0 | 34.7 | Ref. |
| ≥35 | 934 | 29.1 | 29.0 | 37.6 | 1.08 [0.97–1.21] |
| Mother's country of birth | |||||
| Europe | 2716 | 85.6 | 84.4 | 31.8 | Ref. |
| Other | 457 | 14.4 | 15.6 | 45.8 | 1.44 [1.28–1.63] |
| Mother's educational level | |||||
| Lower secondary | 426 | 13.6 | 13.6 | 25.3 | 0.52 [0.53–0.64] |
| Upper secondary | 1265 | 40.3 | 40.4 | 29.9 | 0.61 [0.54–0.69] |
| Bachelor degree or less | 846 | 27.0 | 28.0 | 34.9 | 0.72 [0.63–0.82] |
| Master/doctoral degree | 598 | 19.1 | 18.1 | 48.6 | Ref. |
| Parity | |||||
| 0 | 2012 | 63.1 | 59.8 | 34.2 | Ref. |
| 1 | 754 | 23.6 | 24.2 | 35.1 | 1.03 [0.91–1.16] |
| 2 or more | 424 | 13.3 | 16.0 | 31.1 | 0.91 [0.77–1.07] |
| Type of pregnancy | |||||
| Singleton | 2201 | 68.4 | 66.6 | 37.2 | Ref. |
| Multiple | 1016 | 31.6 | 33.4 | 27.7 | 0.74 [0.66–0.83] |
| Gestational age (weeks) | |||||
| 23–25 | 227 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 35.8 | 1.10 [0.91–1.34] |
| 26–27 | 544 | 16.9 | 16.1 | 39.9 | 1.23 [1.08–1.40] |
| 28–29 | 648 | 26.9 | 27.0 | 33.0 | 1.02 [0.90–1.15] |
| 30–31 | 1582 | 49.1 | 49.7 | 32.4 | Ref. |
| SGA | |||||
| <10th percentile | 1035 | 32.2 | 32.0 | 34.7 | 1.03 [0.93–1.15] |
| ≥10 | 2182 | 67.8 | 68.0 | 33.7 | Ref. |
| Severe neonatal morbiditya | |||||
| No | 2866 | 90.9 | 90.5 | 34.3 | Ref. |
| Yes | 286 | 9.1 | 9.5 | 34.0 | 0.99 [0.83–1.18] |
| Bronchopulmonary dysplasiab | |||||
| No | 2777 | 88.0 | 87.2 | 34.8 | Ref. |
| Yes | 380 | 12.0 | 12.8 | 29.1 | 0.84 [0.71–0.99] |
| Surgeryc | |||||
| No | 2919 | 90.7 | 91.1 | 33.4 | Ref. |
| Yes | 298 | 9.3 | 8.9 | 40.4 | 1.21 [1.04–1.41] |
| Transfer during neonatal care | |||||
| 0 | 1923 | 59.8 | 60.2 | 35.9 | Ref. |
| 1 | 891 | 27.7 | 27.7 | 32.6 | 0.91 [0.81–1.02] |
| 2 or more | 403 | 12.5 | 12.1 | 28.0 | 0.78 [0.65–0.93] |
| Breastfeeding at discharge | |||||
| Exclusive at breast | 865 | 29.5 | 29.0 | 56.8 | ‐ |
| Exclusive not at breast | 305 | 10.4 | 9.4 | 44.4 | ‐ |
| Mixed at breast | 796 | 27.2 | 27.4 | 31.0 | ‐ |
| Mixed not at breast | 464 | 15.9 | 14.1 | 24.9 | ‐ |
| Not breastfeeding at discharge | 498 | 17.0 | 20.0 | 0.0 | ‐ |
| Countryd | |||||
| Belgium (Flanders) | 245 | 7.6 | 10.3 | 30.6 | 0.85 [0.71–1.02] |
| Denmark (eastern region) | 170 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 48.8 | 1.36 [1.17–1.59] |
| Estonia (entire country) | 119 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 37.0 | 1.03 [0.83–1.28] |
| France (Burgundy, Ile‐de‐France, and the northern region) | 526 | 16.4 | 12.3 | 36.2 | 1.01 [0.90–1.13] |
| Germany (Hesse and Saarland) | 316 | 9.8 | 9.6 | 41.1 | 1.15 [1.01–1.31] |
| Italy (Emilia‐Romagna, Lazio and Marche) | 545 | 16.9 | 14.8 | 31.9 | 0.89 [0.79–1.01] |
| The Netherlands (central and eastern region) | 199 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 33.8 | 0.94 [0.79–1.13] |
| Poland (Wielkopolska) | 129 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 38.2 | 1.07 [0.81–1.37] |
| Portugal (Lisbon, Tagus Valley, and north region) | 344 | 10.7 | 10.6 | 25.0 | 0.70 [0.58–0.83] |
| Sweden (greater Stockholm area) | 152 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 52.5 | 1.47 [1.26–1.71] |
| UK (east midlands and Yorkshire & Humber regions) | 472 | 14.7 | 20.3 | 28.1 | 0.78 [0.68–0.91] |
Note. Ref.: reference; RR: risk ratio—95% CI: confidence intervals.
a
Included retinopathy of prematurity, intraventricular haemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia and necrotizing enterocolitis.
b
Oxygen dependence or ventilation at 36 weeks of gestational age.
c
During neonatal hospitalization.
d
Sample average was used as reference for deriving risk ratio for each region.