Hawkins, SS;
Griffiths, LJ;
Dezateux, C;
Law, C;
Millennium Cohort Study Child Health Group, .;
(2007)
The impact of maternal employment on breast-feeding duration in the UK Millennium Cohort Study.
Public Health Nutrition
, 10
(9)
pp. 891-896.
10.1017/S1368980007226096.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of maternal employment characteristics, day care arrangements and the type of maternity leave pay to breast-feeding for at least 4 months. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Babies aged 9 months in the Millennium Cohort Study, born between September 2000 and January 2002. SUBJECTS: A total of 6917 British/Irish white employed mothers with singleton babies. RESULTS: Mothers employed part-time or self-employed were more likely to breast-feed for at least 4 months than those employed full-time (adjusted rate ratio (aRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.30 (1.17-1.44) and 1.74 (1.46-2.07), respectively). The longer a mother delayed her return to work postpartum, the more likely she was to breast-feed for at least 4 months (P for trend < 0.001). Mothers were less likely to breast-feed for at least 4 months if they returned to work for financial reasons (aRR 0.86, 95% CI 0.80-0.93) or used informal day care arrangements rather than care by themselves or their partner (aRR 0.81, 95% CI 0.71-0.91). Mothers were more likely to breastfeed for at least 4 months if their employer offered family-friendly (aRR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02-1.27) or flexible work arrangements (aRR 1.24, 95% CI 1.00-1.55), or they received Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) plus additional pay during their maternity leave rather than SMP alone (aRR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02-1.26). These findings were independent of confounding factors, such as socio-economic status and maternal education. CONCLUSIONS: Current policies may encourage mothers to enter or return to employment postpartum, but this may result in widening inequalities in breast-feeding and persistence of low rates. Policies should aim to increase financial support and incentives for employers to offer supportive work arrangements.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The impact of maternal employment on breast-feeding duration in the UK Millennium Cohort Study |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1017/S1368980007226096 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1368980007226096 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Adult, Breast Feeding, Child Day Care Centers, Cohort Studies, Confidence Intervals, Educational Status, Employment, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Mothers, Odds Ratio, Parental Leave, Socioeconomic Factors, Time Factors, United Kingdom |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/75037 |
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