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Breastfeeding initiation in immigrant and non-immigrant women in Spain

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 65, pages 1345–1347 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Research about inequities between native and immigrant women regarding the quality of health care is still scarce. Initiation of breastfeeding in hospital is considered a quality care indicator. In this study, we explore the association between the geographical origin of the women and the establishment of breastfeeding in Spanish hospitals. Prevalence of breastfeeding initiation is higher for women from Latin America, Eastern Europe, Maghreb or sub-Saharan Africa than for Spanish women, and lower for Chinese women. Compared with Spanish women the odds of not breastfeeding in hospital were lower in all these immigrant groups but more than five times higher for Chinese immigrants. Culturally adapted health services are necessary to maintain breastfeeding rates in most immigrant groups. Moreover, it seems urgent to identify the factors influencing patterns of breastfeeding in Chinese immigrants and to develop innovative strategies to encourage breastfeeding initiation in hospital.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (SEJ 2005/07679) and the CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (Ciberesp, Spain).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Environmental and Reproductive Epidemiology, Spanish Network for Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain

    I Río, M Rebagliato & F Bolúmar

  2. Department of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain

    A Castelló-Pastor, M del Val Sandín-Vázquez & F Bolúmar

  3. Department of Health, General Directorate of Public Health, Generalitat Valenciana, Spain

    C Barona & R Más

  4. Department of Health. Mother and Child Health Programme, General Directorate of Public Health, Catalonia, Spain

    M Jané

Authors
  1. I Río
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  2. A Castelló-Pastor
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  3. M del Val Sandín-Vázquez
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  4. C Barona
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  5. M Jané
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  6. R Más
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  7. M Rebagliato
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  8. F Bolúmar
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Correspondence to F Bolúmar.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Contributors: FB conceived and designed the study. CB and MJ were responsible for the acquisition of initial data. IR, AC-P and MdVS-V conducted the statistical analysis, the interpretation of data and drafted the article. All of them along with RM and MR collaborated in the interpretation of results and revised critically the manuscript.

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Río, I., Castelló-Pastor, A., del Val Sandín-Vázquez, M. et al. Breastfeeding initiation in immigrant and non-immigrant women in Spain. Eur J Clin Nutr 65, 1345–1347 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.121

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.121

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