Breast feeding preference of Hispanic and Anglo women. 1978-1985

Hispanic women of Mexican origin are one of the fastest growing minority groups in the United States, but little information is available regarding the rate of breast feeding among this group of women. The breast feeding preferences of Hispanic women delivering at a southern California university hospital were determined by retrospective analysis of birth log records from 1978 to 1985. Approximately 95 percent of the Hispanic women delivering at this institution were of Mexican origin. Hispanic women had a preference for breast feeding similar to the national average for the same time period. The rate of breast feeding among Hispanic women of Mexican descent was consistently higher than previous reports from other regions of the United States.