Attitudes about breast-feeding in a group of Mexican-American primigravidas
Seger, M.T.; Gibbs, C.E.; Young, E.A.
Texas Medicine 75(1): 78-80
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0040-4470 PMID: 425046 Document Number: 144407
The 150 Mexican-American primigravidae in San Antonio, Texas, USA were interviewed and their replies to 45 questions were recorded. They included 75% of low socioeconomic status, 73% 20 years old or less, 69% who were married, 45% who had been breast fed and 49% who thought their parents approved of breast feeding. Of the married women 44% thought their husband approved of breast feeding. Although 79% thought that breast feeding was not oldfashioned, 87% agreed that bottle feeding was "the modern way to do things". There were 67% who thought that human milk was better than bottle feeds for newborn infants, 40% that a woman should eat more when lactating, 74% that breast-fed infants were less likely than bottle-fed infants to have infectious disorders. There were 38% who said they planned to breast feed, and they were 69% of those who completed high school and 34% of those who did not; 55% of the sample planned to bottle feed. The women were not studied again after parturition. Of women who had been breast fed themselves 56%, and of the others 23%, planned to breast feed; of those whose siblings had been breast fed 54%, and of others 31%, planned to breast feed. Of those who had never seen breast feeding 27% planned to breast feed, and of those who had seen their mother breast feed 71% planned to do so, but the difference between groups having seen or not seen breast feeding was not significant when the model was a more distant relative or not a relative. The main differences between women planning to breast feed and the others were education, family experience and husband's views. The ignorance of and lack of interest in breast feeding ought to prompt prenatal clinics to offer more information.