Childbirth education classes: sociodemographic disparities in attendance and the association of attendance with breastfeeding initiation.
OBJECTIVE
To examine sociodemographic disparities in attendance at childbirth classes, and to evaluate the association of attendance with breastfeeding initiation.


METHODS
Parents of a nationally representative, cross-sectional sample of 2068 children ages 4-35 months were surveyed by telephone. The responses of 1540 mothers were included in the analysis. They were asked whether they had attended a childbirth class before giving birth. Disparities in attendance at childbirth classes and the association between attendance and breastfeeding initiation were examined using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.


RESULTS
Two thirds (66%) of the children's mothers had ever attended a childbirth class. White mothers were twice as likely (OR 2.15, CI 1.39, 3.31) as African American mothers to have ever attended. Attendance also varied by education, household income, and marital status. Attendance at childbirth classes was associated with a 75% increase in the odds that a child will be breastfed (OR 1.75, CI 1.18, 2.60).


CONCLUSIONS
Significant sociodemographic disparities exist in attendance at childbirth classes. Further research is needed to determine whether improving utilization of childbirth education classes reduces sociodemographic disparities in breastfeeding initiation.
Lu
Michael C
MC
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90095-1772, USA. mclu@ucla.edu
Prentice
Julia
J
Yu
Stella M
SM
Inkelas
Moira
M
Lange
Linda O
LO
Halfon
Neal
N
D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D036801:Parturition; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States