RESUMO
Alcohol and drug use is a widespread and serious problem with deleterious consequences for the health and well-being of childbearing-age women and their children. Little information exists regarding etiological factors for substance use among Hispanic childbearing-age women immigrating to the United States (USA). This research provides a correlational analysis of factors associated with alcohol and drug use. The Social Stress Model for Substance Use Prevention provided the conceptual framework for this cross-sectional, interview-administered survey of 60 low-income predominantly Mexican-American women. The outcome variable was alcohol and drug use (alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine and opiates). Independent variables included the major constructs of the model: stress, social support, social influences, personal competencies and community resource utilization patterns. Findings suggested that the levels of drug use were lower among this study sample than in the general USA population regardless of pregnancy status. Bivariate correlations demonstrate that women with higher drug use indices had more lenient attitudes regarding drug use and were more likely to have family and friends that used alcohol and drugs. Although drug use was relatively low among this sample of women, both women who used alcohol themselves and women whose partners used alcohol and drugs reported significantly higher levels of stress, weaker social support and poorer levels of self esteem. Implications for practice and future research are suggested.
Assuntos
Emigração e Imigração , Hispânico ou Latino , Pobreza , Complicações na Gravidez , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/etnologia , Adolescente , Adulto , América Central/etnologia , Estudos Transversais , Feminino , Humanos , Americanos Mexicanos , Gravidez , Apoio Social , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/enfermagem , Inquéritos e Questionários , Estados UnidosRESUMO
This research provides a multivariate analysis of factors associated with prolonged breast-feeding and conversely early infant weaning. Infant care practices associated with early infant weaning during the first four months of life were: early introduction to artificial milk, the infant sleeping in its own crib versus with its mother, and in general a more rigid feeding schedule. The weaned infant lived in a family with higher economic means, also maternal employment and the availability of a support person to care for the infant were variables more frequently found among infants weaned early. These infants had greater than average numbers of curative health care visits and gained less weight during the first four months of life than breast-fed infants. This study's findings suggest that as changes in life styles and cultural norms are molded by levels of modernization and urbanization, with greater participation of women in the workforce, the tendency to wean early may become even greater.
Assuntos
Aleitamento Materno , Tomada de Decisões , Desmame , Comportamento Alimentar , Humanos , Lactente , Cuidado do Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Estilo de Vida , Análise Multivariada , Nicarágua , Pobreza , Fatores Socioeconômicos , População UrbanaRESUMO
Three maternity hospital practices of post-partum mother-infant contact and breast-feeding promotion on the incidence and continuation of breast-feeding among 375 urban poor healthy Nicaraguan primigravid women were investigated. Infant feeding patterns were evaluated at 1 week and 4 months post-partum. Eighty-seven per cent of all infants initiated breast-feeding, but only 54% continued breast-feeding for at least 4 months. There was a significant association between both a short 45-min contact period and rooming-in combined with standard breast-feeding promotion, resulting in greater initial rates of breast-feeding (P less than 0.05). There was only a significant relationship between prolonged contact (rooming-in) and standard breast-feeding promotion and the continuation of breast-feeding (P less than 0.05). These findings suggest that in populations in which a majority of women initiate breast-feeding, post-partum mother-infant contact practices combined with standardized breast-feeding promotion may influence the initial choice to breast-feed, but these practices alone are clearly not enough to prolong breast-feeding.