Familial Sources of Encouragement and Breastfeeding Practices Among Women Participating in the United States Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Abstract

To explore how sources of familial encouragement are associated with breastfeeding initiation and duration among a national sample participating in the United States Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). This study uses the 2013-2015 WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study 2 (WIC ITFPS-2) data. Breastfeeding initiation was measured at the first month while duration was derived from a composite of the first 13 months. The analysis used logistic and linear regression to explore the association between encouragement sources and breastfeeding outcomes. A nationally representative sample of WIC participants in the United States. WIC participants who completed the 13-month interview of the WIC ITFPS-2 (n=2,807). Encouragement was significantly associated with both initiation and duration. Each source of encouragement was associated with a 3.2 (95% CI 2.8-3.8) increase in odds of initiating breastfeeding in the unadjusted model and 3.0 (95% CI 2.5-3.6) increased odds, controlling for age, education, nativity, poverty status, race, and ethnicity (<0.0001). When predicting log duration, each percent increase in source of encouragement was associated with an increasing duration on average by 0.003 days (95% CI 0.2-0.3, <0.0001). When controls were added, it was associated with an increase of an average of 0.002 days (95% CI 0.2-0.3) days per percent increase in encouragement source (<0.0001). Women who receive encouragement appear to be more likely to breastfeed. Additional work is needed to explore sources of encouragement and how to include them in intervention work.