The Determinants of Breastfeeding for Mexican Migrant Women

Abstract

This article develops an economic model for assessing Mexican agricultural migrants decision to breastfeed. The resulting hypotheses from our model are linked to health care and welfare program access, cultural factors, and employment. Using a probit analysis of our variables, a major finding is that non-traditional practices such as out of home childcare, birth control and alcohol use have a negative impact on the probability of breastfeeding. We also found that working women in our sample population are less likely to breastfeed.