Table 1

Descriptive characteristics and unadjusted infant feeding trends in the birth cohort

Background, maternal and infant health characteristicsFull cohortCharacteristic as % of cohortExclusive breast feeding (at first review)Mixed breast feeding (at first review)
n(1997–2009) (%)1997 (%)2009 (%)1997 (%)2009 (%)1997 (%)2009 (%)
Mother's age
 <20 years56 9218876633
 20–24 years130 522181819121266
 25–29 years193 247273227232599
 30–34 years210 92229292733351112
 35–39 years109 04415111637371113
 40+19 79532443371116
Mother's country of birth
 Africa91031.31273641122
 Asia20 1522.82448501830
 Australasia29320.40.40.46871611
 British Isles662 56891.69486363338
 Europe21 7243.0265966514
 North America46050.6116468716
 South America10680.10.10.29264527
 Not known14880.20.20.4100-0-
Mother's smoking status at first visit
 Managerial/professional195 7162723296355410
 Intermediate162 841232221403447
 Routine/semiroutine occupation207 308293226232636
 Other/economically inactive157 775222224272848
Marital status—parents
 Married397 2275562504650412
 Cohabiting208 625292135282837
 Joint registration—different addresses71 70910911171525
 Single parent44 619674161527
Mother's smoking status at first visit
 Non-smoker422 4445847694642410
 Smoker135 860192016181435
 Other/unknown165 336233315393549
Mode of delivery
 Normal/spontaneous448 131626955373838
 Instrumental85 8201211124139410
 Breech343100.60.43130516
 Caesarean—elective62 99697103433511
 Caesarean—emergency101 2941411143633512
 Other unknown21 968329200020
Parity
 First time mother321 815444346363648
 Multiparous mother401 8255657543937410
Neonatal admission
 Not admitted607 293846683383739
 Admitted for up to 2 days26 110433292849
 Admitted for more than 2 days44 3466553028712
 Other/unknown45 8916259373849
Postnatal stay in hospital
 2 days or shorter319 623443452343638
 3 days or longer381 4205365394037413
 Other unknown22 5973194233716
393869
Derived variables
Mother's background—Onomap
 British birth and British origin641 174899282363337
 British birth and non-British origin18 0933234336713
 Non-British birth and British origin23 7083345861613
 Non-British birth and non-British origin31 77242957621623
 Mother of unknown birth/origin889311245461018
Parental background—Onomap
 Both parents of British origin604 964848678383538
 Mother of British origin and father of non-British origin17 5792245351512
 Mother of non-British origin and father of British origin15 5552235550513
 Both parent of non-British origin29 67443749581624
 One parent of unknown origin55 8688881823210
Maternal religious background—Onomap
 Christian687 4899596.792.7373638
 Muslim18 75831.83.348491828
 Buddhist431910.41.042451226
 Sikh175700.20.355591526
 Hindu192400.10.54747420
 Jewish44800.10.14448614
 Not applicable894510.72.145461018
Area deprivation—SIMD 2006
 SIMD 1: Most deprived181 612252625192338
 SIMD 2145 486202021313038
 SIMD 3134 500191919413949
 SIMD 4130 7521817185048510
 SIMD 5: Least deprived129 7191818176154512
  • SIMD, Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation.