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. 2006 Apr 30:1:10.
doi: 10.1186/1746-4358-1-10.

Infant feeding and the media: the relationship between Parents' Magazine content and breastfeeding, 1972-2000

Katherine A Foss  1 , Brian G Southwell
Affiliations

Infant feeding and the media: the relationship between Parents' Magazine content and breastfeeding, 1972-2000

Katherine A Foss et al. Int Breastfeed J. .

Abstract

Mass media content likely influences the decision of women to breastfeed their newborn children. Relatively few studies have empirically assessed such a hypothesis to date, however. Most work has tended to focus either on specific interventions or on broad general commentary about the role of media. In this study, we examined infant feeding advertisements in 87 issues of Parents' Magazine, a popular parenting magazine, from the years 1971 through 1999. We then used content analysis results to predict subsequent changes in levels of breastfeeding among U.S. women. When the frequency of hand feeding advertisements increased, the percentage change in breastfeeding rates reported the next year generally tended to decrease. These results underscore the need to acknowledge the potential role of popular media content in understanding breastfeeding patterns and public health trends.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of U.S. women initiating breastfeeding, 1973 – 2000. Note. Breastfeeding data provided by Ross Products Division, Abbott Laboratories [24].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Change in percentage of women initiating breastfeeding, 1973 – 2000. Note. Breastfeeding data provided by Ross Products Division, Abbott Laboratories [24].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number of hand-feeding advertisements in magazine sample, 1972 – 1999.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relationship of number of hand-feeding advertisements and subsequent changes in reported breastfeeding.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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