The Influence of Mental Health, Confidence, and Acculturation on Breastfeeding in Hispanic People

PurposeTo examine breastfeeding behaviors among Hispanic women who participated in a postpartum nurse home visiting program with a focus on improving breastfeeding rates overall.DesignAn analysis comparing breastfeeding rates between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women and the impacts of anxiety, depression, breastfeeding confidence, and acculturation.SettingYolo County, CA.SubjectsParticipants of the First 5 Yolo Welcome Baby: Road to Resilience home visiting program who completed both an initial and follow-up visit (N = 158).MeasuresMothers self-reported breastfeeding behavior, breastfeeding confidence, anxiety, depression, ethnicity, insurance status, access to WIC, and acculturation (ie, language preference).AnalysisMultinomial logistic regression with ridge regularization.ResultsOverall, anxiety and breastfeeding confidence were associated with more breastfeeding at 3 months postpartum. Anxiety had a greater negative impact on exclusive breastfeeding for non-Hispanic participants compared to Hispanic participants. High breastfeeding confidence was associated with increased exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months only for Spanish-preferring Hispanic participants.ConclusionUnderstanding health behaviors and resilience factors in Hispanic communities may inform interventions and policies in the US that improve breastfeeding rates overall.