Women's Decisions about Breastfeeding and Maternal Employment

Abstract

The last two decades have seen rapid increases in incidence of breastfeeding in United States. While fewer than 30% of women breastfed their infants during 1960s, by 1980s this figure was more than 50% (Ryan, Pratt, et al., 1991). Breastfeeding has been encouraged because it is believed to provide superior nutrition and immunological and psychological benefits to infant, and for mother, reduced risk of breast cancer, faster weight loss following delivery, and improved mother-child bonding (Lawrence, 1989). The recommended duration of breastfeeding is now 6 months, and national health goals call for increases in breastfeeding and duration of breastfeeding (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 1989). In recent decades there also have been sharp increases in labor force participation of mothers with young children. Currently, more than half of women with children less than 1 year old are in labor market, compared to fewer than 20% percent of mothers with 1-year-olds in early 1960s (O'Connell, 1990). Since it is widely assumed that employment and breastfeeding are relatively incompatible, breastfeeding proponents have expressed concern about potentially negative health consequences of increased postpartum employment (Barber-Madden, 1990; La Leche League, 1981; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 1984). Evidence from past studies suggests a negative association between women's employment and breastfeeding behaviors in U.S. In this study, I use data from 1988 National Survey of Family Growth to clarify these relationships, and I test hypothesis that breastfeeding and postpartum employment conflict. Ultimately, this research addresses how women determine their work and family roles. While breastfeeding is not a role per se, it involves an individual decision about appropriate way of engaging in maternal role. As Van Esterik (1992, p. 3) has argued, the conflict between women's productive and reproductive lives is most acute and visible for breastfeeding, working mothers. By considering relationship between breastfeeding and maternal employment, this study adds to a broader literature about conflicts between women's work and maternal roles. Theoretical Perspective Role Incompatibility: Employee Versus Breastfeeding Mother The concept of role conflict (or role incompatibility) has been widely used in studying relationships between women's work and family roles (Moen, 1992; Myrdal & Klein, 1956; Voyandoff, 1984). Women may face role incompatibility if their efforts to fulfill demands of work conflict with their ability to fulfill family demands, and vice versa (Goode, 1960; Merton, 1957). This concept suggests that a woman may face role conflict when she tries to be both an employee and a mother who breastfeeds her child (Blum, 1993; Blum & Vanderwater, 1993; Van Esterik, 1989, 1992). I theorize that women may find these roles incompatible because of both structural and attitudinal conflicts. Women may face attitudinal conflicts between breastfeeding and postpartum employment because each role makes different normative and social demands. The public discourse on motherhood increasingly considers breastfeeding as something that good mothers do for their infants. At same time, as more women work outside home, growing acceptance of maternal employment has led to changes in social construction of motherhood. For instance, increased reliance on nonmaternal child care implies, to some degree, that mother is not unique in her ability to care for her infant (Mason & Kuhlthau, 1989). This potentially conflicts with breastfeeding, which is time-intensive and emphasizes a woman's unique ability to meet her infant's needs. When women make their decisions about postpartum behaviors, they face challenge of balancing these social expectations. Breastfeeding as a visible embodiment of motherhood further conflicts with attitudes at work. …