The Association Between Maternal Employment and Breastfeeding Duration With Household Income in Mexico

Breastfeeding offers the best nutrition during the first months of life. Scholars have identified a dose-response association between breastfeeding duration and reduced risk for child morbidity and mortality. In upper-middle-income countries, including Mexico, maternal employment has been negatively associated with breastfeeding duration. Despite increasing numbers of women entering the workforce and disproportionately participating in the informal sector, where they are un-entitled to paid maternity leave, little is known about how these factors may affect breastfeeding practices.

To determine whether household income moderated the association between maternal employment status (defined as unemployed, formal, and informal full- and part-time employed) and any breastfeeding for ≥ 6 months.

We conducted a cross-sectional study using retrospective secondary data from the 2018-2019 Mexican Health and Nutrition Survey. The analytic sample included data about 2,156 children aged 6-36 months. We computed logistic regression models stratified by household income.

The association between maternal employment and breastfeeding duration varied by household income. Compared to unemployed women, among lower-income households, children were less likely to be breastfed for ≥ 6 months when the participants was part-time informally employed (AOR = 0.30, 95% CI [0.13, 0.69]). Among higher-income households, children were less likely to be breastfed for ≥ 6 months when the participants was full-time formally employed (AOR = 0.52, 95% CI [0.30, 0.88]).

To increase breastfeeding duration, stakeholders need to continue strengthening and enforcing policies among formally employed women, and strategies are urgently needed to support women in the informal sector, particularly those in lower-income households.