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Social Capital, Acculturation, and Breastfeeding Initiation Among Puerto Rican Women in the United States

Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut

Grace Damio, MS

Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition Services at the Hispanic Health Council, Inc., Hartford, Connecticut

David A. Himmelgreen, PhD

Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, Tampa

Yu-Kuei Peng, MPH

Hispanic Health Council, Inc., Hartford, Connecticut

Sofia Segura-Pérez, MS

Hispanic Health Council, Inc., Hartford, Connecticut

Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, PhD

Nutrition and Public Health at the University of Connecticut

To examine reasons for not breastfeeding, and to identify factors associated with ever breastfeeding among Puerto Rican women, a retrospective study was done using a convenience sample of 161 low-income Latino women with children younger than 6 years. Women were recruited from the Hispanic Health Council (43.5%), the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (29.8%), and other places (26.7%). Participants were interviewed using a pretested questionnaire specific to the target community. Most (73%) of the respondents chose to be interviewed in Spanish. Chi-square analyses were used to examine the bivariate association between ever breastfeeding and the independent variables. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to estimate the independent association between acculturation, social capital, and breastfeeding. Women with more social capital were more likely (odds ratio = 2.25, 95% confidence interval, 1.02-4.95) to have breastfed the index child, suggesting that social capital is an important predictor of breastfeeding initiation in this community. J Hum Lact. 20(1):39-45.

Key Words: acculturation • breastfeeding • Latinos • Puerto Rican • social capital

Journal of Human Lactation, Vol. 20, No. 1, 39-45 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0890334403261129


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