Maternal employment and breast-feeding: findings from the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey.

Abstract

This analysis uses nationally representative data from the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey to explore the factors, including employment, associated with breast-feeding initiation and duration. Multiple logistic regression was used to model the determinants of breast-feeding initiation among 9087 US women. Multiple linear regression was used to model the duration of breast-feeding among women who breast-fed. Fifty-three percent of mothers initiated breast-feeding in 1988, and the decision to breast-feed was not associated with maternal employment. However, among breast-feeders, returning to work within a year of delivery was associated with a shorter duration of breast-feeding when other factors were controlled. Among employed mothers, the duration of maternity leave was positively associated with the duration of breast-feeding. The low rates of breast-feeding initiation in the United States are not attributable to maternal participation in the labor force. However, returning to work is associated with earlier weaning among women who breast-feed.