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Women who take longer maternity leave nurse their infants for longer period of time

Ogbuanu C. Pediatrics. 2011;127:e1414–e1427.

New mothers who took longer maternity leaves were more likely to nurse their babies longer vs. women who returned to work sooner, according to a study published online this month.

Researchers at the Georgia Department of Community Health reviewed data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort, and they classified the length of total maternity leave and factored in paid and unpaid time.

The data showed that new mothers who were afforded at least 13 weeks of total maternity leave were most likely to begin breast-feeding (74.2%) compared with those who took 1 to 6 weeks of leave (64.6%).

The researchers wrote that “informal arrangements between employers and employees that enable women to delay their time of return to work after delivery should be encouraged.” They also suggested that workplaces should be encouraged to provide employees with other ways to continue breast-feeding, including providing rooms where new mothers have privacy to pump.

The researchers highlighted two study limitations, which include “the unavailability of a measure on breast-feeding intent. In addition, because of the time lag between the interviews and actual breast-feeding practice, there may have been some reporting errors that resulted in an overestimation or underestimation of the actual duration of breast-feeding.”

Disclosure: The researcher reported no relevant financial disclosures.

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