The impact of marriage on breastfeeding duration: examining the disproportionate effect of COVID-19 pandemic on marginalized communities.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Marriage promotes breastfeeding duration through economic and social supports. The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected marginalized communities and impacted women's employment and interpersonal dynamics. This study examined how marriage affects breastfeeding duration across socioeconomic and racially minoritized groups during COVID-19, aiming to inform social support strategies for vulnerable families in public health crises.

Methods

For this cross-sectional study, data were drawn from the 2017-2021 North Dakota Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (weighted n = 41433). Breastfeeding duration was self-reported, and 2-, 4-, and 6-month duration variables were calculated. Marital status(married, not married) and education (< high school education, ≥

SUBMITTER: Kihlstrom AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11694383 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature