title: Do black-white racial disparities in breastfeeding persist in the military community?
abstract: We conduct a comparative analysis of breastfeeding behavior between military and civilian-affiliated mothers. Our focus is on African American mothers among whom breastfeeding rates are lowest. The military context may mitigate conditions associated with low breastfeeding prevalence by (a) providing stable employment and educational opportunities to populations who face an otherwise poor labor market and (b) providing universal healthcare that includes breastfeeding consultation. Using pregnancy risk assessment monitoring system (PRAMS) data for which we received special permission from each state to flag military affiliation, we analyze civilians and military affiliate in breastfeeding initiation using logistic regression and breastfeeding duration using Cox proportional hazard analysis. We find that breastfeeding is more prevalent among all women in the military setting and that the black-white gap in breastfeeding duration common among civilians is significantly reduced among military affiliates. Breastfeeding is a crucial component of maternal and child health and eliminating racial disparities in its prevalence is a public health priority. This study is the first to identify the military as an important institutional context that deserves closer examination to glean potential policy implications for civilian society.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR), University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA, lundquist@soc.umass.edu.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lundquist
authors.forename: Zhun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Barfield
authors.forename: Irma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Elo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016015:Logistic Models; D008423:Maternal Age; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult