MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT AND BREAST-FEEDING - FINDINGS FROM THE 1988 NATIONAL MATERNAL AND INFANT HEALTH SURVEY

Objectives. This analysis uses nationally representative data from the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey to explore the factor s, including employment, associated with breast-feeding initiation and duration. Methods. Multiple logistic regression was used to model the determinants of breast-feeding initiation among 9087 US women. Multip le linear regression was used to model the duration of boast-feeding a mong women who breast-fed. Results. Fifty-three percent of mothers ini tiated breast-feeding in 1988, and the decision to breast-feed was not associated with maternal employment However, among boast-feeders, ret urning to work within a year of delivery was associated with a shelter duration of breast-feeding when other factors were controlled. Among employed mothers, the duration of maternity leave was positively assoc iated with the duration of breast-feeding. Conclusions. The low rates of breast-feeding initiation in the United States are not attributable to maternal participation in the labor force. However, returning to w ork is associated with earlier weaning among women who breast-feed.