Socioeconomic Status and Breastfeeding Initiation among California Mothers

Objectives. To examine multiple dimensions of socioeconomic status and breastfeeding among a large, random sample of ethnically diverse women. Methods. This study used logistic regression analysis to examine the influence of a range of socioeconomic factors on the chances of ever breastfeeding among a stratified random sample of 10,519 women delivering live births in California for 1999 through 2001. Measures of socioeconomic status included family income as a percentage of the federal poverty level, maternal education, paternal education, maternal occupation, and paternal occupation. Results. Consistent with previous research, there was a marked socioeconomic gradient in breastfeeding. Women with higher family incomes, those who had or whose partners had higher education levels, and women who had or whose partners had professional or executive occupations were more likely than their counterparts to breastfeed. After adjustment for many potential confounders, maternal and paternal education remained positively associated with breastfeeding, while income and occupation were no longer significant. Compared with other racial or ethnic groups, foreign-born Latina women were the most likely to breastfeed. Conclusions. The significant association of maternal and paternal education with breastfeeding, even after adjustment for income, occupation, and many other factors, suggests that social policies affecting educational attainment may be important factors in breastfeeding. Breastfeeding rates may be influenced by health education specifically or by more general levels of schooling among mothers and their partners. The continuing importance of racial/ethnic differences after adjustment for socioeconomic factors could reflect unmeasured socioeconomic effects, cultural differences, and/or policies in Latin American countries.