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Infant feeding practices and associated factors in the first six months of life: The Norwegian Infant Nutrition Survey
Author(s) -
Lande B,
Andersen LF,
Bærug A,
Trygg KU,
LundLarsen K,
Veierød MB,
Bjørneboe GE Aa
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2003.tb00519.x
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , norwegian , medicine , infant feeding , pediatrics , odds ratio , odds , demography , infant formula , breast feeding , logistic regression , philosophy , linguistics , pathology , sociology
Aim : To describe and evaluate infant feeding practices during the first 6 mo of life in relation to recommendations, and to study infant feeding practices in relation to maternal and infant characteristics. Methods : Data from 2383 Norwegian infants aged 6 mo were collected by a self‐administered semi‐quantitative food‐frequency questionnaire measuring feeding practices at 6 mo and feeding practices retrospectively at ≤5.5 mo of age. Results : Only 1% of the infants had never been breastfed. The proportion of breastfed infants was 96% at 1 mo, 85% at 4 mo and 80% at 6 mo. The proportion of exclusively breastfed infants was 90% at 1 mo, 44% at 4 mo and 7% at 6 mo. Twenty‐one percent of the infants were introduced to solid foods before the age of 4 mo. For exclusive breastfeeding at 4 mo, breastfeeding at 6 mo and timely introduction of solid foods (not before 4 mo) significant positive trends were found for maternal age, education and degree of urbanization. Negative associations were found for maternal smoking. Furthermore, exclusive breastfeeding at 4 mo was associated with infant gender and marital status, and the odds of breastfeeding at 6 mo significantly decreased with decreasing infant birthweight. Finally, both the odds of exclusive breastfeeding at 4 mo and of breastfeeding at 6 mo increased with increasing numbers of children. Conclusion : These results indicate that a majority of Norwegian infants are fed in accordance with infant feeding recommendations during their first 6 mo of life. However, the duration of exclusive breastfeeding is shorter than recommended. Infant feeding practices are significantly associated with maternal and infant characteristics.