Comparison of national cross-sectional breast-feeding surveys by maternal education in Europe (2006-2016)

Objective Breast-feeding is an important determinant of health of mothers and their offspring. The present study aimed to compare breast-feeding rates across Europe disaggregated by maternal education and establish what proportion achieves at least 50 % exclusive breast-feeding (EBF) at 6 months.Des...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public Health Nutrition
Main Authors: Sarki, Mahesh, Parlesak, Alexandr, Robertson, Aileen
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2019
Subjects:
Europe
Exclusive breast-feeding
Inequality
Maternal education
Social gradient
Iceland
Online Access:https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/comparison-of-national-crosssectional-breastfeeding-surveys-by-maternal-education-in-europe-20062016(1a46f8d8-46c1-40fb-a839-d64e2c7d276a).html
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980018002999
https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/241094845/Comparison_of_national_cross_sectional_breast_feeding_surveys_by_maternal_education_in_Europe_2006_2016_.pdf
Description
Summary:Objective Breast-feeding is an important determinant of health of mothers and their offspring. The present study aimed to compare breast-feeding rates across Europe disaggregated by maternal education and establish what proportion achieves at least 50 % exclusive breast-feeding (EBF) at 6 months.Design/Setting Secondary analysis of national or sub-national studies' breast-feeding data for EU Member States plus Norway and Iceland, published in 2006-2016. Nineteen EU Member States plus Norway reported rates of EBF and any breast-feeding disaggregated by maternal education, of which only thirteen could be matched to the International Standard Classification of Education.Participants Mothers and their infants aged 0-12 months.Results Data on EBF rates at 6 and 4 months were found in only four and six countries, respectively. At 6 months, EBF rates of 49 % in Slovakia and 44 % in Hungary were closest to WHO's target of at least 50 % EBF. At 4 months, mothers with high education level in Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany had the highest EBF rates (71, 52 and 50 %, respectively). Mothers with low education level were less likely to initiate breast-feeding and cessation occurred early. The inequality gap ranged from 63 % in Irish mothers to no gap or very low levels of inequality in Poland, Sweden and Norway.Conclusions More mothers with high, compared with low, education initiate breast-feeding and practise EBF for longer. More European policies should be targeted to protect, support and promote breast-feeding, especially among mothers with only mandatory education.

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