Influences on infant feeding decisions of first-time mothers in five European countries

Infant feeding decisions made by new parents have significant health implications. The study aimed to investigate: influences on infant feeding decisions; characteristics of mothers reporting reliance on alternative information sources; associations between reliance on different sources and intentio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	European journal of clinical nutrition 2012-08, Vol.66 (8), p.914-919
Main Authors:	GAGE, H, WILLIAMS, P, CAMPOY, C, KOLETZKO, B, RAATS, M, VON ROSEN-VON HOEWEL, J, LAITINEN, K, JAKOBIK, V, MARTIN-BAUTISTA, E, SCHMID, M, EGAN, B, MORGAN, J, DECSI, T
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Adult Audio data Baby foods Biological and medical sciences Breast feeding Breast Feeding - methods Breast Feeding - statistics & numerical data Breastfeeding & lactation Choice Behavior Decision making Decisions England Feeding behavior Feeding. Feeding behavior Female Finland Follow-Up Studies Food Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Germany Health aspects Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Humans Hungary Infant Infants Information Information sources Longitudinal Studies Medical personnel Medical sciences Metabolic diseases Mother and child Mothers Mothers - psychology Psychological aspects Social aspects Socioeconomic Factors Spain Statistical analysis Statistical tests Surveys and Questionnaires Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems Weaning Young Adult
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Summary:	Infant feeding decisions made by new parents have significant health implications. The study aimed to investigate: influences on infant feeding decisions; characteristics of mothers reporting reliance on alternative information sources; associations between reliance on different sources and intentions to exclusively breastfeed and introduce complementary foods later; and subsequent breastfeeding and weaning behaviours. First-time mothers in five European countries (England, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Spain) completed questionnaires about the importance of 17 influences on infant feeding choices at birth and 8 months later, during 2007-2008. Use of individual sources and reliance on four categories (family and friends, health professionals, written materials, audio-visual media) were compared between countries. Associations between information sources used and mother characteristics, feeding intentions and behaviours were investigated using appropriate statistical tests. In all, 2071 first-time mothers provided baseline data; 78% at 8 months. Variation exists between countries in the influence of different sources on feeding decisions of first-time mothers. Across all countries, the most important influences at both time points were books, partner and antenatal midwife. Mothers in higher income quintiles and remaining at school beyond age 16 years reported greater reliance on written sources (P
ISSN:	0954-3007 1476-5640