The Impact of Bahy-Friendly Hospital Designation. Employment Status. Parity. and Other SocialEcological Factors on Lactation Duration for Ne\\ Mothers in l lpstate New York
Abstract
The purpose of this study. that analyzed the existing Feeding Your Infant (FYI)
dataset. was to examine the impact of Bahy-hiendly (BF) I lospital designation.
employment. parity. and other social-ecological factors on lactation status at three months
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postpartum in upstate New York. The FYI dataset \\as analyzed using an adapted \ersion
of the Bronfenhrenner Social-Ecological Systems Framework. A com'Cnience sample of
842 hreastfeeding mothers \\as sun eyed at haseline het\,een two sites - one a BI·
designated hospital. and one a community-hased hospital with a mature hreastfceding
program. Of the 515 mothers \,ho returned the three month suney. 409 (79.4'Yr,J \\ere still
breastfeeding. Lsing t-tests. Chi square. multiple correspondence analysis and multiple
logistic regression analysis. the follcming findings \\ere reported: \1aternal age of 3 I to 35
years. women \\ith 16 or more years of education. and married women. \\ere statistical I::,
more likely to be brea-,tfceding at three months postpartum than younger. unmarried. and
less educated women. In addition. mothers \\ ho reported a history of ""mastitis and 1
or hreast
infection:· and those \\ho expected a maternity lea\ e greater than 3 months. \\ere also
more likely to be breastfeeding. Those \\ho had a prior li,e birth. \\ho reported ha\ ing a
··not fussy·· baby. and those \\ho associated breastfeeding \\ith ··comenience·· \\ere more
likely to be breastfeeding. A. mother·s race. parity status. expected amount of paid
maternity lea\e. perception ofha\ing a ··sleepy haby."· experience with engorgement.
experience with sore and or bleeding nipples. and a mother"s deliwry site. whether BF designated or not. were not statistically significant. Within the multiple logistic rl'gression
analysis. predictors of breastfeeding status at three months postpartum were: insuffil'ient
milk. the perception of ··too much time:· and mothers· educational IC\cl.
I\
In light of ··The 2011 U.S. Surgeon·s Call to Action to Support Breastkeding:· and
the growing interest in The Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and tht: WI 10/l INICLF
Baby-Friendly J lospital lnitiati\'C. these findings ha,e important implications for education.
practice. policy. and future research.