Description
- Abstract:
- Breastfeeding is considered the best source of nutrition for infants, and support of breastfeeding is a goal of US and international health organizations. Notably, breastfeeding is considered a superior form of nutrition in the US and other more developed countries, where the alternatives to breastmilk are more readily available and of better quality than in less developed contexts. However, despite medical recommendations, not all infants receive breast milk. Moreover, the distribution of breast milk to children is not random. Some mothers, particularly advantaged mothers, are more likely than others to breastfeed their children. Consequently, while breastfeeding is a form of inequality in child nutrition, it is also a reflection of other inequalities that children face. The widespread medical support of breastfeeding combined with large scale social disparities in breastfeeding rates make breastfeeding an important topic of sociological inquiry. Using data from Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort (ECLS-B)?a large, nationally representative sample of children born in the US in 2001?this dissertation examines the social correlates of breastfeeding in the United States. A series of analyses addresses the following questions: 1) What social and demographic factors are associated with breastfeeding initiation and duration? 2) Are state level characteristics relevant in explaining between state differences in breastfeeding prevalence? 3) Is breastfeeding related to higher cognitive scores in early childhood? Results suggest that with the exception of mothers with very low education, maternal education is strongly and positively related to both breastfeeding initiation and duration among US mothers. For non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic white and Hispanic mothers, having been born outside the US is related to higher breastfeeding rates. While individual factors are important predictors of breastfeeding, state level contextual factors are also relevant, and between state differences in birth practices explain a substantial portion of between-state variation in breastfeeding, even after controlling for state differences in the composition of mothers. Finally, while breastfeeding may provide benefits for children in other realms, these analyses suggest that any positive effect of breastfeeding on child cognitive scores is small, and less than the effect of positive parenting behaviors.
- Notes:
- Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Brown University (2009)
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Citation
Parker, Erin M.,
"Social Disparities and Breastfeeding in the United States"
(2009).
Sociology Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.7301/Z04B2ZKQ
