Explaining the increase in breastfeeding at hospital discharge in Ireland, 2004–2010

Abstract

Background:Despite a steady increase in the rate of breastfeeding in Ireland over the period 2004-2010 (from 46.8 per cent in 2004 to 55.7 per cent in 2010), Irish rates of breastfeeding are still low by international standards. Over this period, the characteristics of mothers and babies changed, with mothers increasingly older, having fewer children and increasingly born outside the Republic of Ireland. Aims:The purpose of this paper is to understand the extent to which changing maternal and birth characteristics explained the increase in the breastfeeding rate in Ireland over the period [2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009][2010]. Methods:We apply non-linear decomposition techniques to micro-data from the 2004-2010 Irish National Perinatal Reporting System to examine this issue. The technique allows us to quantify the extent to which the increase in the breastfeeding rate over the period 2004-2010 is due to changing maternal and birth characteristics. Results:We find that between 55 and 74 per cent of the increase over the period can be explained by changing characteristics, with the increasing share of mothers from Eastern Europe, and increasing maternal age the most important contributors. Conclusions:These findings suggest that existing policy initiatives have been relatively ineffective in increasing breastfeeding rates in Ireland, i.e., most of the observed increase occurred simply because the characteristics of mothers were changing in ways that made them increasingly likely to breastfeed. Aims:The purpose of this paper is to understand the extent to which changing maternal and birth characteristics explained the increase in the breastfeeding rate in Ireland over the period 2004-2010. Methods:We apply non-linear decomposition techniques to micro-data from the [2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009][2010] Irish National Perinatal Reporting System to examine this issue. The technique allows us to quantify the extent to which the increase in the breastfeeding rate over the period 2004-2010 is due to changing maternal and birth characteristics. Results:We find that between 55 and 74 per cent of the increase over the period can be explained by changing characteristics, with the increasing share of mothers from Eastern Europe, and increasing maternal age the most important contributors. Conclusions:These findings suggest that existing policy initiatives have been relatively ineffective in increasing breastfeeding rates in Ireland, i.e., most of the observed increase occurred simply because the characteristics of mothers were changing in ways that made them increasingly likely to breastfeed.P a g e 3 o f 1 5

Essays on Culture and Early Childhood

“…So far, literature shows that breastfeeding practices vary across mother's birth place, ethnicity and race, even when they face similar socioeconomic conditions. (6,7,8,9,10,11,12) In addition, these practices are correlated with mother's participation in social activities (e.g. attendance to church), stigma around breastfeeding in public and gender roles beliefs, amongst others.…”

“…attendance to church), stigma around breastfeeding in public and gender roles beliefs, amongst others. (13,8,9,11,14,15) Understanding whether these norms and social beliefs have a role on the adoption of adequate breastfeeding practices is important because of its positive effect on human capital, largely discussed in scientific literature (See, for example, (18,19,20,21)). While there is extensive evidence of ethnic/racial variation in breastfeeding practices (9,7,6,10,12), only some argue these differences are explained by culture 1 .…”

“…While there is extensive evidence of ethnic/racial variation in breastfeeding practices (9,7,6,10,12), only some argue these differences are explained by culture 1 . (8,11,16,17) Those studies usually compare immigrants versus natives outcomes, which are affected by migration shocks and selection bias.…”

“…Both coefficients are statistically significant at 10%. Furthermore, the hypothesis test that both coefficients are equal is not rejected 11 . This suggests that the migration selection process each ethnic group undertakes affects 9 As shown in Section 3.2, the ethnic groups living in the rural area are in different geographic locations.…”

“…On the other hand, compared to Non-indigenous people, Indigenous people rely more frequently on relatives and family network when they migrate to the city (52). 11 We regress both samples simultaneously, and then, we perform a F test on the difference of the Indigenous dummy coefficients. The P-value is 0.855.…”