title: "Las Dos Cosas," or Why Mexican American Mothers Breast-Feed, But Not for Long.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine why mothers in El Paso, Texas, choose to breast-feed but not exclusively and why breast-feeding duration is short.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional observational study of 300, mostly Mexican American, low-income mothers delivering at a county hospital who answered questions about breast-feeding and formula feeding, sociodemographics, and health habits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most mothers (92.6%) in our study initiated breast-feeding, but only 20.3% breast-fed exclusively at the time of hospital discharge. Most mothers (73%) self-identified as Mexicans or Mexican Americans living on the border of the United States and Mexico. Mothers in our study chose to breast-feed if they decided to breast-feed during pregnancy, had breast-fed a previous child, had support from a female relative, and had attended college. Distinctively, most mothers in our study chose "las dos cosas" or to breast-feed and formula feed together early after birth. Acculturation failed to explain the breast-feeding decisions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mexican American mothers who decided to breast-feed during pregnancy, breast-fed another child, attended college, and enlist a female relative's breast-feeding help were more likely to choose breast-feeding exclusively. Most Mexican American low-income mothers in our study chose "las dos cosas."
authors.affiliation: From Department of Pediatrics, Paul Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, and Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: From Department of Pediatrics, Paul Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, and Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Inés
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Anchondo
authors.affiliation: From Department of Pediatrics, Paul Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, and Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: From Department of Pediatrics, Paul Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, and Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: MariaTeresa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villanos
authors.affiliation: From Department of Pediatrics, Paul Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, and Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Casey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Finch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000379:methods*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D041943:Infant Formula; D017058:Mexican Americans; D013781:Texas; D055815:Young Adult