Maternal years of schooling but not academic skills is independently associated with infant-feeding practices in a cohort of rural Guatemalan women.

The effects of maternal academic skills on infant-feeding practices are not clear. From 1996 to 1999, the authors collected information on infant-feeding practices from birth on infants born to 279 mothers from 4 rural villages in Guatemala. They examined associations between maternal academic skills and indicators for the initiation of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and timely introduction of complementary foods (CF). Mothers in the highest category of academic skills had greater odds of initiating EBF, but this association failed to remain significant after adjusting for schooling. Compared with mothers with < 1 year of school, mothers with > 3 to <or= 6 years had greater odds of initiating EBF; mothers with > 6 years of school had greater odds of introducing CF early, while mothers with >or= 1 to <or= 3 years had greater odds of introducing CF late. Unmeasured schooling-related factors influenced infant-feeding practices to a greater extent than academic skills.