Campos Ana Paola, Hawkins Summer Sherburne
Boston College School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
J Hum Lact. 2022 Nov;38(4):749-759. doi: 10.1177/08903344211072495. Epub 2022 Feb 9.
Breastfeeding offers the best nutrition during the first months of life. Scholars have identified a dose-response association between breastfeeding duration and reduced risk for child morbidity and mortality. In upper-middle-income countries, including Mexico, maternal employment has been negatively associated with breastfeeding duration. Despite increasing numbers of women entering the workforce and disproportionately participating in the informal sector, where they are un-entitled to paid maternity leave, little is known about how these factors may affect breastfeeding practices.
To determine whether household income moderated the association between maternal employment status (defined as unemployed, formal, and informal full- and part-time employed) and any breastfeeding for ≥ 6 months.
We conducted a cross-sectional study using retrospective secondary data from the 2018-2019 Mexican Health and Nutrition Survey. The analytic sample included data about 2,156 children aged 6-36 months. We computed logistic regression models stratified by household income.
The association between maternal employment and breastfeeding duration varied by household income. Compared to unemployed women, among lower-income households, children were less likely to be breastfed for ≥ 6 months when the participants was part-time informally employed ( = 0.30, 95% CI [0.13, 0.69]). Among higher-income households, children were less likely to be breastfed for ≥ 6 months when the participants was full-time formally employed ( = 0.52, 95% CI [0.30, 0.88]).
To increase breastfeeding duration, stakeholders need to continue strengthening and enforcing policies among formally employed women, and strategies are urgently needed to support women in the informal sector, particularly those in lower-income households.
母乳喂养为生命最初几个月提供了最佳营养。学者们已确定母乳喂养时长与儿童发病和死亡风险降低之间存在剂量反应关系。在包括墨西哥在内的中高收入国家，母亲就业与母乳喂养时长呈负相关。尽管进入劳动力市场的女性数量不断增加，且她们在非正规部门的参与比例过高，而在非正规部门她们无权享受带薪产假，但对于这些因素如何影响母乳喂养行为却知之甚少。
确定家庭收入是否调节了母亲就业状况（定义为失业、正规就业以及非正规全职和兼职就业）与任何母乳喂养≥6个月之间的关联。
我们利用2018 - 2019年墨西哥健康与营养调查的回顾性二手数据进行了一项横断面研究。分析样本包括2156名6 - 36个月儿童的数据。我们计算了按家庭收入分层的逻辑回归模型。
母亲就业与母乳喂养时长之间的关联因家庭收入而异。与失业女性相比，在低收入家庭中，当参与者是非正规兼职就业时，孩子母乳喂养≥6个月的可能性较小（比值比 = 0.30，95%置信区间[0.13, 0.69]）。在高收入家庭中，当参与者是正规全职就业时，孩子母乳喂养≥6个月的可能性较小（比值比 = 0.52，95%置信区间[0.30, 0.88]）。
为了延长母乳喂养时长，利益相关者需要继续加强并执行针对正规就业女性的政策，而且迫切需要制定策略来支持非正规部门的女性，尤其是低收入家庭的女性。
