Breast-feeding initiation and exclusive duration at 6 months by social class-results from the Millennium Cohort Study

Abstract

A UK wide survey of 18,125 singletons born in 2000-01 found that overall breastfeeding was initiated for 71 per cent of babies. By one, four and six months of age the proportions being exclusively breast-fed were 34 per cent, 3 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively. There were clear social class differences. Mothers with routine jobs with the least favourable working conditions were more than four times less likely (odds ratio (OR) 0.22, 95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 0.18-0.29) to initiate breastfeeding compared with women in higher managerial and professional occupations. This differential was maintained at one month (OR 0.42, 95 per cent CI 0.36- 0.50) and four months (OR 0.5, 95 per cent CI 0.31-0.77). The authors conclude that a co-ordinated multi-faceted strategy is required to promote breast-feeding, particularly among lower-income women.