Easing Cash Assistance Rules and Breastfeeding.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a major federal cash assistance program for low-income families, but the program has strict eligibility criteria, meager cash benefits, and cumbersome administrative burdens that limit its effect. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic state TANF programs implemented policy changes to expand program access, including relaxed work requirements and additional income. Few studies have examined the association of these policy changes with health outcomes.

Objective

To analyze the association between TANF policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic and breastfeeding initiation and duration.

Design, setting, and participants

This study used serial cross-sectional national data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Mon

SUBMITTER: Dore EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12334963 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature