Breast-feeding pattern among Indochinese immigrants in northern California
E. Romero-Gwynn
Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis 95616.
A sharp decline in the rate of breast-feeding was documented among
Indochinese mothers who migrated from Cambodia and Laos to a city in
northern California. While 97.0% of the mothers breast-fed their last
infant born in Indochina, only 26.1% and 22.4%, respectively, breast-fed
their first and last infant born in the United States. Furthermore, only
3.8% of the mothers who were pregnant at the time of the study intended to
breast-feed. The duration of breast-feeding decreased from an average of
20.4 months for the last infant born in Indochina to 8.7 months for the
last infant born in the United States. After controlling for several
sociodemographic variables, only formula samples distributed at hospital
discharge had a significant association with formula feeding (odds ratio,
2.02). However, data on intention to breast-feed suggested that a clear
cause-and-effect relationship may not exist. Factors related to cultural
traditions and acculturation are offered as possible explanations for the
decline in breast-feeding. Breast-feeding education for mothers and
training for health professionals is recommended.
