Maternity leave duration and full-time/part-time work status are associated with US mothers’ ability to meet breastfeeding intentions

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Hum Lact
• Personal Author:
  Mirkovic, Kelsey R. ; Perrine, Cria G. ; Scanlon, Kelley S. ; Grummer-Strawn, Laurence M.
• Description:
  Background
  
  Breastfeeding provides numerous health benefits for infants and mothers; however, many infants are not breastfed as long as recommended or desired by mothers. Maternal employment is frequently cited as a barrier to breastfeeding.
  
  Objectives
  
  To assess whether maternity leave duration and return-status (full-time [FT], part-time [PT]) were associated with not meeting a mother’s intention to breastfeed at least 3 months.
  
  Methods
  
  We used data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II, a cohort study. Analyses were limited to women employed prenatally who intended to breastfeed 3 months or longer (n=1172). Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between maternity leave duration and return to work-status (<6 weeks/FT, <6 weeks/PT, 6 weeks – 3 months/FT, 6 weeks – 3 months/PT, not working by 3 months) and meeting a mother’s intention to breastfeed at least 3 months.
  
  Results
  
  Overall, 28.8% of mothers did not meet their intention to breastfeed at least 3 months. Odds of not meeting intention to breastfeed at least 3 months were higher among mothers who returned to work FT before 3 months (<6 weeks/FT: aOR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.23 – 4.12; 6 weeks – 3 months/FT: aOR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.30 – 2.56), compared with mothers not working at 3 months.
  
  Conclusions
  
  Returning to work full-time before 3 months may reduce a mother’s ability to meet her intention to breastfeed at least 3 months. Employer support for flexible work scheduling may help more women achieve their breastfeeding goals.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adult Breast Feeding Employment Female Humans Infant, Newborn Maternal Behavior Parental Leave Surveys And Questionnaires Women, Working Work Schedule Tolerance

  More +
• Source:
  J Hum Lact. 30(4):416-419.
• Pubmed ID:
  25034868
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4593053
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Volume:
  30
• Issue:
  4
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:095466bfff73c138cc4e5b3bef075775ff661488e244b281275ba3543a15513f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/34744/cdc_34744_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 115.71 KB ]