Intent to Breastfeed and the Educational Gradient

A mother’s intent to breastfeed her infant is one of the strongest predictors of both breastfeeding initiation and duration of time spent breastfeeding. However, the variables associated with the intent to breastfeed remain somewhat underexplored. This study examines the association between the education of the mother and her partner and the mother’s intent to breastfeed. Univariates and logistic regressions were executed to examine a sample of 2,820 primiparous mothers surveyed in their third trimester. It was found that mothers with a high school degree or less have a 56% [95%CI: .27, .71] lower odds of intending to breastfeed and mothers with some college have a 36% [95%CI: .43,95] lower odds of intending to breastfeed relative to women with a college degree or higher. If the father of the infant has a high school degree or less the mother has a 42% [95%CI: .37, .90] lower odds of intending to breastfeed relative to mother’s who have partner’s with a college degree or higher. In addition, in combination, if both the mother and the father have a high school degree or less the mother is 74% less likely to intend to breastfeed relative to both partners having a college degree or more; in other words, an additive effect of partner education is observed. This shows the importance of considering both mother and father’s education when assessing breastfeeding intentions. It presents a potentially straightforward screening item to identify risk of not intending to breastfeed, which could have implications for breastfeeding initiation and duration.