Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Mar;11(2):119-25.
doi: 10.1007/s10995-006-0152-5. Epub 2007 Feb 6.

The effect of time in the U.S. on the duration of breastfeeding in women of Mexican descent

Kim Harley  1 , Nannette L Stamm, Brenda Eskenazi
Affiliations

The effect of time in the U.S. on the duration of breastfeeding in women of Mexican descent

Kim Harley et al. Matern Child Health J. 2007 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: Although women of Mexican decent have high rates of breastfeeding, these rates may vary considerably by acculturation level. This study investigated whether increased years of residence in the U.S. is associated with poorer breastfeeding practices, including shorter duration of any and exclusive breastfeeding, in a population of low-income mothers of Mexican descent.

Methods: Pregnant women (n = 490) were recruited from prenatal clinics serving a predominantly Mexican-origin population in an agricultural region of California. Women were interviewed during pregnancy, shortly postpartum, and when their child was 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3.5 years of age.

Results: Increased years of residence in the U.S. was associated with decreased likelihood of initiating breastfeeding and shorter duration of exclusive and any breastfeeding. Median duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 2 months for women living in the U.S. for 5 years or less, 1 month for women living in the U.S. for 6 to 10 years, and less than one week for women living in the U.S. for 11 years or more, or for their entire lives (lifetime residents). After controlling for maternal age, education, marital status and work status, lifetime residents of the U.S. were 2.4 times more likely to stop breastfeeding, and 1.5 times more likely to stop exclusive breastfeeding, than immigrants who had lived in the U.S. for 5 years or less.

Conclusions: Efforts are needed to encourage and support Mexican-origin women to maintain their cultural tradition of breastfeeding as they become more acculturated in the U.S.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Duration of exclusive breastfeeding among women of Mexican descent according to years of residence in the United States.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Duration of breastfeeding among women of Mexican descent according to years of residence in the United States.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding. Breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics. 2005;115:496–506. - PubMed
    1. Li R, Darling N, Maurice E, Barker L, Grummer-Strawn LM. Breastfeeding rates in the United States by characteristics of the child, mother, or family: the 2002 National Immunization Survey. Pediatrics. 2005;115:e31–7. - PubMed
    1. Newton ER. The epidemiology of breastfeeding. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2004;47:613–23. - PubMed
    1. Ryan AS, Wenjun Z, Acosta A. Breastfeeding continues to increase into the new millennium. Pediatrics. 2002;110:1103–9. - PubMed
    1. Guzman B. The Hispanic Population: Census 2000 Brief. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2001.

Publication types