1Global Health,University of Copenhagen,Copenhagen,Denmark.
2Global Nutrition and Health,University College Copenhagen,Sigurdsgade 26, 2200 København N,Denmark.
Public Health Nutr. 2019 Apr;22(5):848-861. doi: 10.1017/S1368980018002999. Epub 2018 Dec 5.
Breast-feeding is an important determinant of health of mothers and their offspring. The present study aimed to compare breast-feeding rates across Europe disaggregated by maternal education and establish what proportion achieves at least 50 % exclusive breast-feeding (EBF) at 6 months.Design/SettingSecondary analysis of national or sub-national studies' breast-feeding data for EU Member States plus Norway and Iceland, published in 2006-2016. Nineteen EU Member States plus Norway reported rates of EBF and any breast-feeding disaggregated by maternal education, of which only thirteen could be matched to the International Standard Classification of Education.ParticipantsMothers and their infants aged 0-12 months.
Data on EBF rates at 6 and 4 months were found in only four and six countries, respectively. At 6 months, EBF rates of 49 % in Slovakia and 44 % in Hungary were closest to WHO's target of at least 50 % EBF. At 4 months, mothers with high education level in Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany had the highest EBF rates (71, 52 and 50 %, respectively). Mothers with low education level were less likely to initiate breast-feeding and cessation occurred early. The inequality gap ranged from 63 % in Irish mothers to no gap or very low levels of inequality in Poland, Sweden and Norway.
More mothers with high, compared with low, education initiate breast-feeding and practise EBF for longer. More European policies should be targeted to protect, support and promote breast-feeding, especially among mothers with only mandatory education.
母乳喂养是母亲及其后代健康的重要决定因素。本研究旨在比较欧洲各国按母亲教育程度细分的母乳喂养率，并确定至少 50%的婴儿在 6 个月时实现纯母乳喂养（EBF）的比例。
设计/背景：对欧盟成员国及挪威和冰岛于 2006 年至 2016 年公布的全国或国家以下各级研究的母乳喂养数据进行二次分析。19 个欧盟成员国及挪威报告了 EBF 和任何按母亲教育程度细分的母乳喂养率，其中只有 13 个可以与国际教育标准分类相匹配。
0-12 个月的母亲及其婴儿。
仅在四个和六个国家分别找到了 6 个月和 4 个月时 EBF 率的数据。6 个月时，斯洛伐克和匈牙利的 EBF 率分别为 49%和 44%，最接近世卫组织至少 50% EBF 的目标。4 个月时，丹麦、荷兰和德国高教育程度的母亲 EBF 率最高（分别为 71%、52%和 50%）。教育程度低的母亲不太可能开始母乳喂养，且母乳喂养的时间较早结束。爱尔兰母亲的不平等差距最大，为 63%，而波兰、瑞典和挪威的差距或不平等程度则非常低或不存在。
与低教育程度的母亲相比，更多高教育程度的母亲开始母乳喂养，并更长时间地实行 EBF。应该有更多的欧洲政策来保护、支持和促进母乳喂养，特别是在只有义务教育的母亲中。
