Effect of literacy on breast-feeding outcomes.
BACKGROUND
We studied the effect of functional health literacy on the initiation and continuance of breast-feeding in women at a public health clinic.


METHODS
Subjects were 61 first-time mothers aged 18 years or older who spoke English as their first language. They were divided into two groups, one who exclusively breast-fed for at least the first 2 months and one who never initiated breast-feeding or did not exclusively breast-feed for at least 2 months. The Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) was administered, providing reading grade-level estimates for each subject.


RESULTS
An association between functional health literacy and breast-feeding was seen, with only 23% of the women in the lower literacy group exclusively breast-feeding during the first 2 months compared with 54% of women in the higher literacy group.


CONCLUSIONS
Many patients need simpler health education materials encouraging breastfeeding. These materials are needed both before and during pregnancy.
Kaufman
H
H
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque 87131, USA.
Skipper
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B
Small
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Terry
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McGrew
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D009516:New Mexico; D011932:Reading; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires