UK breastfeeding rates are low and socially distributed. Little is known about the association between childcare and breastfeeding in different socio-economic groups. The authors used data from a contemporary UK cohort of infants (n=18,050) and calculated the likelihood of breastfeeding for at least 4 months according to informal childcare (care by friends, grandparents, other relatives, etc) and formal childcare (e.g. nurseries, crèches), both lasting at least 10 hours a week and commencing before the age of 4 months, compared to being cared for ‘only by a parent’ and also by socio-economic group.
They found that informal childcare was associated with a reduced likelihood of breastfeeding for all groups of mothers. Formal childcare arrangements were only associated with a reduced likelihood of breastfeeding if used full-time by more advantaged families. The researchers suggest that childcare centres offer a potential setting to promote breastfeeding, for example through offering storage of expressed milk and encouraging mothers to continue to breastfeed. The lower likelihood of being breastfed experienced by infants cared for by family, friends and neighbours was evident in all socio-economic groups.
The researchers therefore recommend that breastfeeding campaigns in the UK might be aimed at all members of society, Qualitative research into how childcare acts to facilitate or discourage breastfeeding for mothers from different socioeconomic groups may help to target policy and practice more effectively.
Pearce A, Li L, Abbas J et al (2012) Childcare use and inequalities in breastfeeding: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Arch. Dis. Child; 97(1): p. 39-42
