Department of Global and Community Health, College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA.
Conway School of Nursing, The Catholic University of America, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Breastfeed Med. 2024 Feb;19(2):120-128. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2023.0223.
To assess the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on breastfeeding initiation (BFI) and duration among women enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for women, infants, and children (WIC) in Washington District of Columbia (DC). We used WIC program data from Washington DC to assess the pandemic's impact on BFI and duration among WIC recipients. -Tests and unadjusted odds ratios compared breastfeeding outcomes before and during the pandemic. Multivariable logistic and linear regression models estimated the pandemic's impact on initiation and duration, respectively, while controlling for social determinants of health and other factors. BFI was similar among women who gave birth before (61.4%) or during the pandemic (60.4%) ( = 0.359). However, the proportion of women who breastfed at 1 month decreased significantly from 56.1% (before pandemic) to 47.6% (during pandemic) ( < 0.0001). This pattern for duration continued at 3 and 6 months: 46.9% to 37.1% ( < 0.0001) at 3 months and 34.8% to 25.7% ( < 0.0001) at 6 months. On average, women who delivered during the pandemic breastfed 33.9 fewer days than those who delivered before ( < 0.0001). BFI among DC WIC recipients was similar for infants born before or during the pandemic, and determinants of initiation remained similar to previous reports (e.g., race/ethnicity, education). However, for women who initiated breastfeeding, average duration was significantly lower for infants born during the pandemic than before. Our findings suggest the importance of leveraging WIC and other breastfeeding supports to promote breastfeeding during pandemics and other emergencies.
评估 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行对哥伦比亚特区华盛顿特区参加妇女、婴儿和儿童特别补充营养计划（WIC）的妇女母乳喂养开始（BFI）和持续时间的影响。我们使用华盛顿特区的 WIC 计划数据评估大流行对 WIC 接受者母乳喂养开始和持续时间的影响。 - 测试和未调整的优势比比较了大流行前后的母乳喂养结果。多变量逻辑回归和线性回归模型分别估计了大流行对启动和持续时间的影响，同时控制了健康的社会决定因素和其他因素。在大流行之前（61.4%）或期间（60.4%）分娩的妇女中，BFI 相似（ = 0.359）。然而，在 1 个月时母乳喂养的妇女比例从大流行前的 56.1%显著下降到 47.6%（ < 0.0001）。这种持续时间的模式在 3 个月和 6 个月时继续存在：46.9%至 37.1%（ < 0.0001）在 3 个月和 34.8%至 25.7%（ < 0.0001）在 6 个月。平均而言，在大流行期间分娩的妇女母乳喂养的天数比大流行前分娩的妇女少 33.9 天（ < 0.0001）。在大流行期间或之前出生的婴儿，哥伦比亚特区 WIC 接受者的 BFI 相似，启动的决定因素与以前的报告相似（例如，种族/民族、教育）。然而，对于开始母乳喂养的妇女，在大流行期间出生的婴儿的平均持续时间明显低于大流行前。我们的研究结果表明，在大流行和其他紧急情况下，利用 WIC 和其他母乳喂养支持来促进母乳喂养的重要性。
