Time Off Work After Childbirth and Breastfeeding Supportive Workplaces: Associations with Near-Exclusive...

We aimed to determine whether the association between time off work and a near-exclusive breastfeeding trajectory is moderated by perceived employer support for breastfeeding.

We conducted a secondary analysis of working mothers (n = 1,468) from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II, a longitudinal observational (2005-2007) study of U.S. infant feeding behaviors. Previous studies have found four latent infant feeding subgroups in the Infant Feeding Practices Study II sample, each following a distinct breastfeeding intensity trajectory. Multivariate least-squares regression was conducted to estimate whether time off work after delivery predicted increased membership in the subgroup characterized by near-exclusive breastfeeding, and whether this association was moderated by perceived employer support for workplace breastfeeding.

Both time off work and perception of more breastfeeding support were independently, positively related to probability of membership in the near-exclusive breastfeeding trajectory (β = 0.16, p = .019, and β = 0.14, p = .004, respectively). The interaction of these two factors suggests an attenuation effect. The addition of paid leave to the model did not change the estimates.

The positive relationship between time off and trajectory membership was significant only for mothers who perceived their workplaces to be unsupportive of breastfeeding.