Breastfeeding practices.

Objectives This article examines demographic and socio-economic factors associated with breastfeeding among women aged 15 to 55 in 2003 who had had a baby in the previous five years. Data sources The data are from Statistics Canada's 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Supplementary information is from earlier national and regional surveys. Analytical techniques The analysis is based on information provided by 7,266 women aged 15 to 55 who had had a baby in the previous five years. Cross-tabulations were used to estimate the proportions who breastfed their most recent child and those who did so exclusively for at least six months, by age, marital status, education, household income, rural/urban residence, immigrant status and province. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the association of these characteristics with the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding and of exclusive breastfeeding. Main results In 2003, an estimated 85% of mothers reported that they had attempted to breastfeed, up markedly from around 25% in the mid-1960s. However, 17% had breastfed exclusively for at least six months. The likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding varied substantially by province. It rose with the mother's age and tended to be more common among those who lived in urban areas and who were college/university graduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]