title: Why are young women less likely to breastfeed? Evidence from an Australian population-based survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Younger mothers are less likely to continue breastfeeding compared with older mothers. However, few studies have explored this finding. The aim of this study was to investigate breastfeeding initiation and duration among women aged under 25 and 25 years or older, and assess the extent to which any differences associated with maternal age were explained by other factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  All women who gave birth in September and October 2007 in two Australian states were mailed questionnaires 6 months after the birth. Women were asked about infant feeding, maternity care experiences, sociodemographic characteristics, and exposure to stressful life events and social health issues. We examined the association between maternal age, breastfeeding initiation, and breastfeeding at 6 months, while adjusting for a range of social and obstetric risk factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While younger women were just as likely to initiate breastfeeding as older women (AdjOR 1.13; 95% CI 0.63-2.05), they had almost twice the odds of not breastfeeding at 6 months (AdjOR 1.76; 95% CI 1.34-2.33). Several psychosocial factors may explain why young women are less likely to breastfeed for longer periods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Given the complexity of young childbearing women's lives, supporting them to breastfeed will require a multisectorial approach that addresses social disadvantage and resulting health inequalities.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing & Midwifery, Monash University, Clayton, Vic., Australia; Healthy Mothers Healthy Families Group at Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: Mary Anne
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Biro
authors.forename: Jane Susanne
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Yelland
authors.forename: Stephanie Janne
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008423:Maternal Age; D036801:Parturition; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: breastfeeding; social disadvantage; young women