FRI448 Mother Versus Daughter Attitudes Toward Breastfeeding In American Indians: Implications For Reproductive Health Education

Abstract

Abstract Disclosure: E.W. Seely: None. J.R. Demirci: None. L.E. Hebert: None. E. Kelty: None. M. heydarpour: None. K. Moore: Consulting Fee; Self; Novo Nordisk. D. Charron-Prochownik: None. Background: Breastfeeding has well established health benefits for mothers and their children, being associated with a reduction in incidence of type 2 diabetes and childhood overweight/obesity. Accordingly, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding, followed by 1-2 years of continued breastfeeding. American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) women have among the lowest rates of breastfeeding of all races/ethnicities in the United States. The low rate is striking given the high rates of type 2 diabetes and obese/overweight AIAN children and young adults. To explore the low breastfeeding rates, we examined breastfeeding attitudes among AIAN mother-daughter dyads at 5 sites (Southwest, Northeast, Plains, and Northwest Coast, U.S.) in data from the Stopping GDM randomized controlled trial (NCT02723266). Methods: We used data collected among 149 mother-daughter dyads, who were asked 7 questions from the CDC’s Infant Feeding Practices Survey II focusing on the importance of breastfeeding and its potential health benefits. An additional question was asked: “If a child was breastfed, he/she will be less likely to get diabetes.” We compared mother/daughter attitudes using Chi-square tests. Results: Mean age + standard deviation of mothers was 44.1 + 9.3 and daughters 16.7 + 3.0 years. Eighty percent of both mothers and daughters agreed or strongly agreed that “Infant formula is not as good as breast milk.” However, attitudes that the best way to feed a baby is breastfeeding and that babies should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months were both statistically higher in mothers than daughters (74% vs. 59% and 68% vs. 40%, respectively). Mothers also had significantly higher agreement with the statements that breastfeeding was beneficial for prevention of ear infections (66% vs. 18%), respiratory illness (67% vs. 27%), diarrhea (48% vs. 22%), obesity (42% vs. 12%) and diabetes (35% vs. 13%) than daughters. Conclusion: Significant agreement between mothers/daughters exists for the belief that infant formula is not as good as breast milk. However, daughters’ attitudes toward the benefits of breastfeeding differ significantly from mothers with daughters endorsing weaker beliefs in infant health benefits of breastfeeding. This information is important to design early interventions to increase breastfeeding in AI women by increasing awareness of benefits and eliciting maternal support for adolescents and young adult women prior to planning a pregnancy. Presentation: Friday, June 16, 2023