Social Capital and Breastfeeding Initiation among Puerto Rican Women

Little is known about breastfeeding rates and factors that affect the likelihood for ever breastfeeding (BF) among Puerto Rican women residing in the continental United States. A cross-sectional study was designed to examine acculturation and food behaviors among low-income Latinos in Hartford, CT. We examined the association of social capital with the likelihood of BF among women 17 to 40 years of age with a child less than 6 years of age. Chi-square analyses were used to examine the bivariate association between BF and independent variables. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the independent association between social capital and BF after controlling for confounders. Backward stepwise multivariate logistic regression results indicate that mothers who exchanged services with friends or relatives were more likely to have breastfed the previous child (OR=2.65; 95% CI=1.16–6.05) and also more likely to have ever breastfed the index child (OR=2.08; 95% CI=1.07–4.05) compared with their counterparts who did not exchange services. Mothers who listened to only Latino music (vs. those listening to non-Latino music) were less likely (OR=0.49; 95% 0=0.25–0.95) to have breastfed the index child. Findings suggest that social capital, as represented by exchange of services with friends or relatives, is associated with a higher likelihood of BF in this Puerto Rican community.