Food and housing insecurity: do they affect the continuation of breastfeeding at four months of age?

To examine the relationship between food and housing insecurity and the continuation of breastfeeding, interviews were conducted with 203 birthing parents in English or Spanish. The study was conducted between August 2019 and March 2021 in the southeastern U.S. The breastfeeding rate among participants was 52%. Multivariate analysis indicated that birthing parents experiencing housing insecurity were less likely to be breastfeeding at 4 months of infant's age (p = 0.019). Future research is warranted to understand how housing insecurity might contribute to the discontinuation of breastfeeding through stress, poor rent affordability and the lack of clean and safe environments.