Education Attainment and Parity Explain the Relationship Between Maternal Age and Breastfeeding Duration in U.S. Mothers

Abstract

Background: Prior research in high-income countries finds that young mothers tend to breastfeed their infants for shorter durations than older mothers; however, there are gaps in our understanding of the processes by which age influences breastfeeding. Research aim: The primary objective of this study was to test the mediating effects of parity and education attainment on the association between maternal age and two breastfeeding outcomes: total duration and duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Methods: This study was a secondary data analysis of the IFPS II, a prospective, longitudinal study of ~ 4,900 American mothers. Robust and bias-corrected regression analyses tested the direct effect of age and the indirect effects of age through parity and education for each outcome of interest. Results: Parity and education attainment together explain nearly all of the association between maternal age and both measures of breastfeeding duration. The mediating role of education is significantly larger than parity for both outcomes. Conclusion: These findings indicate that maternal age primarily indexes parity and education but contributes minimally to breastfeeding duration via a direct effect. The findings have implications for intervention development and targeting strategies.