IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v109y2014icp55-65.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is breast truly best? Estimating the effects of breastfeeding on long-term child health and wellbeing in the United States using sibling comparisons

Author

Listed:
  • Colen, Cynthia G.
  • Ramey, David M.

Abstract

Breastfeeding rates in the U.S. are socially patterned. Previous research has documented startling racial and socioeconomic disparities in infant feeding practices. However, much of the empirical evidence regarding the effects of breastfeeding on long-term child health and wellbeing does not adequately address the high degree of selection into breastfeeding. To address this important shortcoming, we employ sibling comparisons in conjunction with 25 years of panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to approximate a natural experiment and more accurately estimate what a particular child's outcome would be if he/she had been differently fed during infancy. Results from standard multiple regression models suggest that children aged 4 to 14 who were breast- as opposed to bottle-fed did significantly better on 10 of the 11 outcomes studied. Once we restrict analyses to siblings and incorporate within-family fixed effects, estimates of the association between breastfeeding and all but one indicator of child health and wellbeing dramatically decrease and fail to maintain statistical significance. Our results suggest that much of the beneficial long-term effects typically attributed to breastfeeding, per se, may primarily be due to selection pressures into infant feeding practices along key demographic characteristics such as race and socioeconomic status.

Suggested Citation

  • Colen, Cynthia G. & Ramey, David M., 2014. "Is breast truly best? Estimating the effects of breastfeeding on long-term child health and wellbeing in the United States using sibling comparisons," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 55-65.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:109:y:2014:i:c:p:55-65
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.01.027
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953614000549
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.01.027?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2013. "Female Labor Supply: Why Is the United States Falling Behind?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 251-256, May.
    2. Patrick Royston, 2005. "Multiple imputation of missing values: update," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 5(2), pages 188-201, June.
    3. Bound, John & Solon, Gary, 1999. "Double trouble: on the value of twins-based estimation of the return to schooling," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 169-182, April.
    4. Baker, Michael & Milligan, Kevin, 2008. "Maternal employment, breastfeeding, and health: Evidence from maternity leave mandates," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 871-887, July.
    5. Mehta, Neil K. & Lee, Hedwig & Ylitalo, Kelly R., 2013. "Child health in the United States: Recent trends in racial/ethnic disparities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 6-15.
    6. Janet Currie, 2009. "Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Socioeconomic Status, Poor Health in Childhood, and Human Capital Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 87-122, March.
    7. Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2003. "Cluster-Sample Methods in Applied Econometrics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 133-138, May.
    8. Sophia Rabe-Hesketh & Anders Skrondal, 2012. "Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling Using Stata, 3rd Edition," Stata Press books, StataCorp LLC, edition 3, number mimus2, January.
    9. Blau, Francine D. & Kahn, Lawrence M., 2013. "Female Labor Supply: Why is the US Falling Behind?," IZA Discussion Papers 7140, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Weden, M.M. & Brownell, P. & Rendall, M.S., 2012. "Prenatal, perinatal, early life, and sociodemographic factors underlying racial differences in the likelihood of high body mass index in early childhood," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(11), pages 2057-2067.
    11. Patrick Royston, 2005. "Multiple imputation of missing values: Update of ice," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 5(4), pages 527-536, December.
    12. Robert Moffitt, 2005. "Remarks on the analysis of causal relationships in population research," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 42(1), pages 91-108, February.
    13. Reilly, Siobhan & Evenhouse, Eirik, 2005. "Improved estimates of the benefits of breastfeeding using sibling comparisons to reduce selection bias," MPRA Paper 13434, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Patrick Royston, 2005. "MICE for multiple imputation of missing values," United Kingdom Stata Users' Group Meetings 2005 02, Stata Users Group.
    15. Moulton, Brent R, 1990. "An Illustration of a Pitfall in Estimating the Effects of Aggregate Variables on Micro Unit," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(2), pages 334-338, May.
    16. Arline T. Geronimus & Sanders Korenman, 1992. "The Socioeconomic Consequences of Teen Childbearing Reconsidered," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(4), pages 1187-1214.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Braimoh, Jessica & Davies, Lorraine, 2014. "When ‘breast’ is no longer ‘best’: Post-partum constructions of infant-feeding in the hospital," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 82-89.
    2. Anita Kottwitz & Anja Oppermann & C. Katharina Spiess, 2016. "Parental leave benefits and breastfeeding in Germany: effects of the 2007 reform," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 859-890, December.
    3. Jackson, Dylan B., 2016. "Breastfeeding duration and offspring conduct problems: The moderating role of genetic risk," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 128-136.
    4. Koh, Kanghyock, 2017. "Maternal breastfeeding and children's cognitive development," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 101-108.
    5. Wu, Qiong & Farley, Tatjana & Cui, Ming, 2021. "Breastfeeding, maternal psychopathological symptoms, and infant problem behaviors among low-income mothers returning to work," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    6. Karen E. Schaller & Linda J. Stephenson-Somers & Adolfo J. Ariza & Maheen Quadri & Helen J. Binns, 2019. "Case Reports: Multifaceted Experiences Treating Youth with Severe Obesity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-9, March.
    7. Cebolla-Boado, Héctor & Jiménez-Buedo, María & Salazar, Leire, 2017. "Avoiding selection bias without random assignment? The effect of breastfeeding on cognitive outcomes in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 151-159.
    8. Kirksey, Kristen, 2021. "A social history of racial disparities in breastfeeding in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    9. Ingjerd Hvatum & Kari Glavin, 2017. "Mothers’ experience of not breastfeeding in a breastfeeding culture," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(19-20), pages 3144-3155, October.
    10. Tomori, Cecilia & Palmquist, Aunchalee E.L. & Dowling, Sally, 2016. "Contested moral landscapes: Negotiating breastfeeding stigma in breastmilk sharing, nighttime breastfeeding, and long-term breastfeeding in the U.S. and the U.K," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 178-185.
    11. Cho, Esther Yin-Nei & Yu, Fuk-Yuen, 2020. "A review of measurement tools for child wellbeing," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    12. Kieron J. Barclay & Martin Kolk, 2017. "The Long-Term Cognitive and Socioeconomic Consequences of Birth Intervals: A Within-Family Sibling Comparison Using Swedish Register Data," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(2), pages 459-484, April.
    13. Kronborg, Hanne & Sievertsen, Hans Henrik & Wüst, Miriam, 2016. "Care around birth, infant and mother health and maternal health investments – Evidence from a nurse strike," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 201-211.
    14. Arthi, Vellore & Schneider, Eric B., 2021. "Infant feeding and post-weaning health: Evidence from turn-of-the-century London," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    15. Zhe Zhang & Corinne Reczek & Cynthia G. Colen, 2020. "Intergenerational Coresidence and Mothers’ Body Weight at Midlife," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(6), pages 1051-1085, December.
    16. Barclay, Kieron & Keenan, Katherine & Grundy, Emily & Kolk, Martin & Myrskylä, Mikko, 2016. "Reproductive history and post-reproductive mortality: A sibling comparison analysis using Swedish register data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 82-92.
    17. Leiter, Valerie & Agiliga, Alexis & Kennedy, Evangeline & Mecham, Emma, 2022. "Pay at the pump?: Problems with electric breast pumps," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    18. Barclay, Kieron & Keenan, Katherine & Grundy, Emily & Kolk, Martin & Myrskylä, Mikko, 2016. "Reproductive history and post-reproductive mortality: a sibling comparison analysis using Swedish register data," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65602, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dohoon Lee & Margot Jackson, 2017. "The Simultaneous Effects of Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Child Health on Children’s Cognitive Development," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(5), pages 1845-1871, October.
    2. Juho Härkönen & Hande Kaymakçalan & Pirjo Mäki & Anja Taanila, 2012. "Prenatal Health, Educational Attainment, and Intergenerational Inequality: The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 Study," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(2), pages 525-552, May.
    3. Lee, Chioun & Ryff, Carol D., 2016. "Early parenthood as a link between childhood disadvantage and adult heart problems: A gender-based approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 58-66.
    4. Denney, Justin T. & Brewer, Mackenzie & Kimbro, Rachel Tolbert, 2020. "Food insecurity in households with young children: A test of contextual congruence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    5. Gerko Vink & Laurence E. Frank & Jeroen Pannekoek & Stef Buuren, 2014. "Predictive mean matching imputation of semicontinuous variables," Statistica Neerlandica, Netherlands Society for Statistics and Operations Research, vol. 68(1), pages 61-90, February.
    6. Watkins, Adam M. & Melde, Chris, 2018. "Gangs, gender, and involvement in crime, victimization, and exposure to violence," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 11-25.
    7. Jason R. D. Rarick & Carly Tubbs Dolan & Wen‐Jui Han & Jun Wen, 2018. "Relations Between Socioeconomic Status, Subjective Social Status, and Health in Shanghai, China," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 99(1), pages 390-405, March.
    8. David W Lawson & Arijeta Makoli & Anna Goodman, 2013. "Sibling Configuration Predicts Individual and Descendant Socioeconomic Success in a Modern Post-Industrial Society," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(9), pages 1-9, September.
    9. Brewer, Mackenzie & Kimbro, Rachel Tolbert, 2014. "Neighborhood context and immigrant children's physical activity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 1-9.
    10. Lee, RaeHyuck & Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne & Han, Wen-Jui & Waldfogel, Jane & Zhai, Fuhua, 2014. "Is participation in Head Start associated with less maternal spanking for boys and girls?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 55-63.
    11. Lombardi, Caitlin McPherran, 2021. "Family income and mothers’ parenting quality: Within-family associations from infancy to late childhood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    12. Minda Tan & Shuiyun Liu, 2023. "A Way of Human Capital Accumulation: Heterogeneous Impact of Shadow Education on Students’ Academic Performance in China," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, November.
    13. Christopher F Baum, 2006. "An Introduction to Modern Econometrics using Stata," Stata Press books, StataCorp LLC, number imeus, January.
    14. Emma Zang & Anthony R. Bardo, 2019. "Objective and Subjective Socioeconomic Status, Their Discrepancy, and Health: Evidence from East Asia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 765-794, June.
    15. Álvaro Choi & María Gil & Mauro Mediavilla & Javier Valbuena, 2016. "Double toil and trouble: grade retention and academic performance," Working Papers 2016/7, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    16. Emma Tominey, 2013. "Maternity Leave and the Responsiveness of Female Labor Supply to a Household Shock," Working Papers 2013-016, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    17. Martin Halla & Friedrich Schneider & Alexander Wagner, 2013. "Satisfaction with democracy and collective action problems: the case of the environment," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 109-137, April.
    18. Shaun R. Seaman & Ian R. White & Andrew J. Copas & Leah Li, 2012. "Combining Multiple Imputation and Inverse-Probability Weighting," Biometrics, The International Biometric Society, vol. 68(1), pages 129-137, March.
    19. Schwartz, Joseph A. & Beaver, Kevin M., 2014. "A biosocial analysis of the sources of missing data in criminological research," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 452-461.
    20. Richard Grieve & John Cairns & Simon G. Thompson, 2010. "Improving costing methods in multicentre economic evaluation: the use of multiple imputation for unit costs," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(8), pages 939-954, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:109:y:2014:i:c:p:55-65. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.