title: Breastfeeding intentions among pregnant adolescents and young adults and their partners.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rates of breastfeeding remain disproportionately low among young mothers in the United States. Although breastfeeding behavior may be most directly related to breastfeeding intention, little is known about breastfeeding intentions among young women who are expecting a baby.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pregnant adolescents and young adults (14-21 years old) and their male partners were recruited for participation. Females were asked if they intended to breastfeed, and their partners were asked if they wanted their partners to breastfeed; participants indicated reasons for their responses. Logistic regression modeling was used to determine the associations between breastfeeding intentions and sociodemographic characteristics, relationship characteristics, and partner's intention to breastfeed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 73% of females reported intending to breastfeed, and 80% of males reported wanting his partner to breastfeed, most commonly because it is "healthier for the baby" and "a more natural way to feed the baby." Sociodemographic and relationship characteristics explained a small amount of variance of breastfeeding intention (15% and 4% among females, respectively, and 8% and 4% among males, respectively). Partner intention explained an additional 23% and 24% of the variance in individual intention for females and males, respectively. Females who had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) from their current partner had lower odds of intending to breastfeed (odds ratio=0.37; 95% confidence interval=0.16, 0.84). Race/ethnicity modified associations among both genders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings emphasize the importance of dyadic approaches and suggest strategies for improving breastfeeding intentions and behavior among young couples expecting a baby. These results are also among the first to document the relationship between IPV and breastfeeding intentions among young women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Women, Children, and Family Health Science, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. sipsmah@uic.edu
authors.forename: Heather L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Sipsma
authors.forename: Anna A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Divney
authors.forename: Urania
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Magriples
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Derrick
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Trace
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kershaw
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult