'We're failing some children:' Women struggling to put food on table may be less likely to keep breastfeeding
Canadian women who worry about making ends meet are less likely to continue to breastfeed their baby compared with other women, say researchers who are calling for more supports for vulnerable families.
Of more than 10,000 women who were surveyed over nine years, almost everyone started breastfeeding, the study's authors reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
But by the two-month mark, more than half of those who said they had trouble affording enough nutritious food stopped breastfeeding, whereas half of other women exclusively breastfed to at least four months.
Researchers say that's important because public health authorities such as the the World Health Organization recommend that infants breastfeed exclusively for six months "to achieve optimal growth, development and health."
Previous Post:Students hit hard by food insecurity
Next Post:Toronto ombudsman blasts city's handling of shelter crisis