5057.0: Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - Board 6

Abstract #29790

Postpartum hospital stay, family income, and breastfeeding duration: California, 1999

Katherine E. Heck, MPH, National Center for Health Statistics, Infant and Child Health Studies Branch, 714 P Street, Room 476, Sacramento, CA 95814, Kenneth C. Schoendorf, MD, MPH, Infant and Child Health Studies Branch, National Center for Health Statistics, 6525 Belcrest Road, room 790, Hyattsville, MD 20782, Paula Braveman, MD, MPH, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, Gilberto F. Chavez, MDMPH, California Department of Health Services, Maternal and Child Health Branch, 714 P Street, Room 476, Sacramento, CA 95814, and Kristen S. Marchi, MPH, Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 500 Parnassus, MU-3E, Box 0900, San Francisco, CA 94947, (415) 476-6620, kmarchi@itsa.ucsf.edu.

Background. Most women who begin breastfeeding stop after only a few months. The trend toward shorter postpartum stays in the hospital may influence length of time breastfeeding. Methods. Data were drawn from the 1999 California Maternal and Infant Health Assessment, a survey of 3,483 childbearing women, weighted to represent all childbearing women in California. Survival analysis was used to examine the relationship between a one-night hospital stay at delivery and length of time breastfeeding, controlling for confounders. Reported infant’s age at stopping breastfeeding was used to calculate length of time breastfeeding; those still breastfeeding at the time of the survey were censored. Results. Twenty-nine percent of mothers in the sample had a one-night hospital stay. An interaction was found between family income and length of stay, such that a one-night stay was associated with a shorter time breastfeeding among low-income women (adjusted relative risk [RR], 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68, 0.98), but there was no association with length of breastfeeding among higher-income women (RR, 1.06, 95% confidence interval 0.88, 1.28). Additional bivariate predictors of shorter time breastfeeding included receipt of Medi-Cal; African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, or Hispanic ethnicity; low education level; second or later birth; maternal foreign-born status; and smoking during pregnancy. Conclusions. Despite the new laws requiring reimbursement for a 48-hour postpartum stay, many women leave the hospital early. Low-income women are among those most at risk of never breastfeeding or terminating early, and short postpartum stays may contribute to their short periods of breastfeeding.

Learning Objectives: 1. Discuss the association of length of postpartum hospital stay with breastfeeding duration. 2. Explain the impact of family income on the relationship between breastfeeding and length of stay. 3. Describe reasons why length of stay might be associated with breastfeeding duration.

Keywords: Breast Feeding, Health Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

The 129th Annual Meeting of APHA