2011/05/31 by Chinelo Ogbuanu, Saundra H. Glover, Janice C. Probst +2 · 267 citations
Medicine · #Breastfeeding Practices and Influences #Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions #Gestational Diabetes Research and Management #Breastfeeding #Medicine #Maternity leave #Logistic regression #Odds ratio #Demography #Odds #Obstetrics #Population #Longitudinal study #Cohort study #Sick leave #Pediatrics #Environmental health #Physical therapy #Internal medicine
paper · doi:10.1542/peds.2010-0459
published in PEDIATRICS 127(6), e1414-e1427 (American Academy of Pediatrics)
openalex publication_date 2011/05/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/08
OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effect of maternity leave length and time of first return to work on breastfeeding. METHODS: Data were from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. Restricting our sample to singletons whose biological mothers were the respondents at the 9-month interview and worked in the 12 months before delivery (N = 6150), we classified the length of total maternity leave (weeks) as 1 to 6, 7 to 12, ≥ 13, and did not take; paid maternity leave (weeks) as 0, 1 to 6, ≥ 7, and did not take; and time of return to work postpartum (weeks) as 1 to 6, 7 to 12, ≥ 13, and not yet returned. Analyses included χ(2) tests and multiple logistic regressions. RESULTS: In our study population, 69.4% initiated breastfeeding with positive variation by both total and paid maternity leave length, and time of return to work. In adjusted analyses, neither total nor paid maternity leave length had any impact on breastfeeding initiation or duration. Compared with those returning to work within 1 to 6 weeks, women who had not yet returned to work had a greater odds of initiating breastfeeding (odds ratio [OR]: 1.46 [1.08-1.97]; risk ratios [RR]: 1.13 [1.03-1.22]), continuing any breastfeeding beyond 6 months (OR: 1.41 [0.87-2.27]; RR: 1.25 [0.91-1.61]), and predominant breastfeeding beyond 3 months (OR: 2.01 [1.06-3.80]; RR: 1.70 [1.05-2.53]). Women who returned to work at or after 13 weeks postpartum had higher odds of predominantly breastfeeding beyond 3 months (OR: 2.54 [1.51-4.27]; RR: 1.99 [1.38-2.69]). CONCLUSION: If new mothers delay their time of return to work, then duration of breastfeeding among US mothers may lengthen.