Research in Medicine

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Background: Numerous studies show that working outside home is the key barrier to breastfeeding. The objective of this study was comparing the pattern of breastfeeding in infants whose mothers were employed in public sectors with unemployed mothers. Materials and methods: In this study 630 mothers (254 employed), attending health care centers in northern and western Tehran with 6-30 months infants with the birth weight of at least 2000 g, were interviewed. The results were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: After logistic regression it was revealed that parental education, infant's sex or birth order had no significant effect on rate or duration of breast-feeding. There were no significant differences in the rate of breastfeeding between the two groups at 0 and 2 months, but there were significant differences after returning to work (at 4, 6 8, 10 and 12 months). Our results showed that the rate and duration of breast feeding were significantly lower in employed mothers at all infant ages, after 4 months. Figures for breastfeeding at 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 months in the two groups of employed and unemployed mothers were as follows: 69.7% versus 76.9%, 61.4% versus 73.7%, 57.9% versus 69.9%, 54.7% versus 67.7%,and 52.6% versus 67%, and p-values = 0.044, 0.001, 0.002, 0.001, and 0.0001, respectively. Conclusion: After returning to work the rate and duration of breastfeeding in employed mother are significantly lower than housewives.

Keywords: Breastfeeding, Employed women, Unemployed women.

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