This study examined the effects of attending a breastfeeding class on initiation and duration of breastfeeding in low-income women who participated in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in Oakland County, Michigan. Racially and culturally diverse pregnant women over the age of 18 years of age who took part in the WIC program were surveyed. The control group (n=75) did not attend a breastfeeding class but expressed an interest in breastfeeding. The intervention group (n=75) participated in the breastfeeding class. Breastfeeding data were collected until six months postpartum. Women who attended the breastfeeding class, breastfed for a significantly (p<.001) longer time than those who did not. The breastfeeding class did not have a significant impact on initiation of breastfeeding. Further exploration of programs and services to improve breastfeeding rates among low-income women who participate in the WIC Program is needed to further characterize the relationship between education and breastfeeding.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study examined the effects of attending a breastfeeding class on initiation and duration of breastfeeding in low-income women who participated in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in Oakland County, Michigan. Racially and culturally diverse pregnant women over the age of 18 years of age who took part in the WIC program were surveyed. The control group (n=75) did not attend a breastfeeding class but expressed an interest in breastfeeding. The intervention group (n=75) participated in the breastfeeding class. Breastfeeding data were collected until six months postpartum. Women who attended the breastfeeding class, breastfed for a significantly (p<.001) longer time than those who did not. The breastfeeding class did not have a significant impact on initiation of breastfeeding. Further exploration of programs and services to improve breastfeeding rates among low-income women who participate in the WIC Program is needed to further characterize the relationship between education and breastfeeding.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hrabonz, Mary"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Health Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Anahita Mistry","Julie Lothamer"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z","subjects":["Breastfeeding Class","WIC Participants","Medicine and Health Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/819","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Anahita Mistry","Julie Lothamer"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hrabonz, Mary"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-03-14T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Breastfeeding Class","WIC Participants","Medicine and Health Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/819"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study examined the effects of attending a breastfeeding class on initiation and duration of breastfeeding in low-income women who participated in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in Oakland County, Michigan. Racially and culturally diverse pregnant women over the age of 18 years of age who took part in the WIC program were surveyed. The control group (n=75) did not attend a breastfeeding class but expressed an interest in breastfeeding. The intervention group (n=75) participated in the breastfeeding class. Breastfeeding data were collected until six months postpartum. Women who attended the breastfeeding class, breastfed for a significantly (p<.001) longer time than those who did not. The breastfeeding class did not have a significant impact on initiation of breastfeeding. Further exploration of programs and services to improve breastfeeding rates among low-income women who participate in the WIC Program is needed to further characterize the relationship between education and breastfeeding.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The effectiveness of a breastfeeding class on initiation and duration of breastfeeding in WIC participants"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Anahita Mistry","Julie Lothamer"],"dc:creator":["Hrabonz, Mary"],"dc:date.available":["2018-03-14T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study examined the effects of attending a breastfeeding class on initiation and duration of breastfeeding in low-income women who participated in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in Oakland County, Michigan. Racially and culturally diverse pregnant women over the age of 18 years of age who took part in the WIC program were surveyed. The control group (n=75) did not attend a breastfeeding class but expressed an interest in breastfeeding. The intervention group (n=75) participated in the breastfeeding class. Breastfeeding data were collected until six months postpartum. Women who attended the breastfeeding class, breastfed for a significantly (p<.001) longer time than those who did not. The breastfeeding class did not have a significant impact on initiation of breastfeeding. Further exploration of programs and services to improve breastfeeding rates among low-income women who participate in the WIC Program is needed to further characterize the relationship between education and breastfeeding.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/819"],"dc:subject":["Breastfeeding Class","WIC Participants","Medicine and Health Sciences"],"dc:title":["The effectiveness of a breastfeeding class on initiation and duration of breastfeeding in WIC participants"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:27Z"}