Table 1.
Sample characteristics
| Breastfeeding 1–6 months (n = 43) |
Breastfeeding 6–12 months (n = 47) |
Breastfeeding 12–18 months (n = 50) |
Breastfeeding 18–24 months (n = 44) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal age, years (mean ± SD; median, P25th–75th) 1 |
32.6 ± 3.6, 32, 29–35 |
30.9 ± 4.6, 31, 28–35 |
32.2 ± 4.8, 32, 33–36 |
32.0 ± 4.5, 32, 29–37 |
0.28 |
| Maternal BMI, kg/m2 (mean ± SD; median, P25th–75th) 2 |
23.2 ± 4.5, 22.5, 19.7–24.8 |
22.6 ± 4.8, 21.3, 19–25.1 |
22.3 ± 4.1, 21.6, 20.2–23.8 |
22.3 ± 3.3, 21.7, 19.8–25.1 |
0.78 |
| Educational level (n, %)3 | |||||
| Primary school | 9 (20.9) | 7 (14.9) | 16 (32.0) | 12 (27.3) | 0.13 |
| Secondary school/certificate | 0 (0) | 3 (6.4) | 4 (8.0) | 4 (9.1) | |
| Graduate degree | 34 (79.1) | 37 (78.7) | 30 (60.0) | 28 (63.6) | |
| First ANC visit, months (mean ± SD; median, P25th–75th) 2 |
2.0 ± 1.3, 2, 1–2 |
2.3 ± 1.6, 2, 1–3 |
2.3 ± 1.3, 2, 1–3 |
2.1 ± 1.2, 2, 1–3 |
0.78 |
| Gestational age, days (mean ± SD; median, P25th–75th) 2 |
270.6 ± 6.4, 272, 266–273 |
271.3 ± 8.1, 272, 266–278 |
271.5 ± 6.4, 273, 266–275 |
272.3 ± 8.3, 273, 266–280 |
0.84 |
| Birth order 3 (n, %) | |||||
| First born | 27 (62.8) | 31 (66.0) | 33 (66.0) | 25 (56.8) | 0.71 |
| Second born | 15 (34.9) | 15 (31.9) | 13 (26.0) | 16 (36.4) | |
| Third-fifth born | 1 (2.3) | 1 (2.1) | 4 (8.0) | 3 (6.8) | |
| Parental status, couple (n, %) 3 | 42 (97.7) | 47 (100) | 48 (96.0) | 44 (100) | 0.46 |
| Breastfeeding frequency, times per day (mean ± SD; median, P25th–75th) 2 |
6.4 ± 5.6, 6, 1–10 |
6.0 ± 4.8, 5, 2–9 |
5.7 ± 3.8, 6, 3–8 |
6.1 ± 3.9, 5, 3.2–8 |
0.98 |
1One-way ANOVA, 2 Kruskal-Wallis test, and 3 Fisher’s exact test were used for statistical calculations, and a p-value less than 0.05 was regarded as significant
BMI body mass index, ANC antenatal care, SD standard deviation, P percentile
All participants were Thai