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Breastfeeding and maternal physical and mental health among food insecure families with infants in Canada
Author(s) -
Orr Sarah Kathleen,
Tarasuk Valerie
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.lb435
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , mental health , psychosocial , food insecurity , medicine , environmental health , food security , odds , depression (economics) , odds ratio , demography , pediatrics , logistic regression , geography , psychiatry , archaeology , pathology , sociology , economics , macroeconomics , agriculture
One in six children in Canada live in food insecure households, but we know very little about the early‐life conditions facing infants in these households. Data from the US finds infants living in food insecure households face higher risk of poor health, hospitalization, and psychosocial and developmental problems. Also in the US, food insecurity has been shown to increase risk of maternal depression and reduce odds of following recommended infant feeding practices. Using nationally representative data available from the 2007–2012 Canadian Community Health Survey, we examined the relationship between food insecurity, breastfeeding practices, and maternal self‐reported general and mental health among mothers of infants 0–24 months of age (n = 6,470). When controlling for sociodemographics and maternal mental health, mothers living in food insecure households, compared to those living in food secure households, were as likely to initiate breastfeeding (aOR: 1.11, 95% CI 0.70–1.76), but once initiated, they were more likely to stop exclusive breastfeeding earlier than recommended (<4 months (aOR: 1.59, 95% CI 1.17–2.17), <6 months (aOR: 1.51, 95% CI 1.05–2.17)). In multivariate analyses controlling for maternal‐and household‐level sociodemographics, household food insecurity independently predicted mothers of infants reporting self‐perceived poor general health (aOR: 3.43, 95% CI 1.88–6.26), poor mental health (aOR: 4.48, 95% CI 2.81–7.14), and high life stress (aOR: 2.21, 95% CI 1.73–2.82). This study suggests that food insecurity interferes with a mother's ability to optimally care for her infant, although these relationships are cross‐sectional. More research is needed to understand the impact of food insecurity on infant health in Canada.