Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30364395›Full record

ArticleBMJ global health2018

Does extending the duration of legislated paid maternity leave improve breastfeeding practices? Evidence from 38 low-income and middle-income countries.

Yan Chai, Arijit Nandi, Jody Heymann

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in BMJ global health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
69citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

69 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Stop Auditing Mothers and Start Auditing Systems.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026
    Article
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  8. Exploring exclusive breastfeeding readiness: experiences of first-time mothers in Lusaka, Zambia.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2025
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  18. Stakeholder Perspectives on Research, Policy and Practice Priorities to Increase Human Milk Feeding Rates in the United Kingdom.Journal of human lactation : official journal of International Lactation Consultant Association · 2024
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Article

9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Yan ChaiDepartment of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1174-8615
Arijit NandiDepartment of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health and Institute for Health and Social Policy, MGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Jody HeymannDepartment of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionAmong all barriers to breastfeeding, the need to work has been cited as one of the top reasons for not breastfeeding overall and for early weaning among mothers who seek to breastfeed. We aimed to examine whether extending the duration of paid maternity leave available to new mothers affected early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding under 6  months and breastfeeding duration in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).

methodsWe merged longitudinal data measuring national maternity leave policies with information on breastfeeding related to 992 419 live births occurring between 1996 and 2014 in 38 LMICs that participated in the Demographic and Health Surveys. We used a difference-in-differences approach to compare changes in the prevalence of early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding, as well as the duration of breastfeeding, among treated countries that lengthened their paid maternity leave policy between 1995 and 2013 versus control countries that did not. Regression models included country and year fixed effects, as well as measured individual-level, household-level and country-level covariates. All models incorporated robust SEs and respondent-level sampling weights.

resultsA 1-month increase in the legislated duration of paid maternity leave was associated with a 7.4 percentage point increase (95%  CI 3.2 to 11.7) in the prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding, a 5.9 percentage point increase (95%  CI 2.0 to 9.8) in the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and a 2.2- month increase (95%  CI 1.1 to 3.4) in breastfeeding duration.

conclusionExtending the duration of legislated paid maternity leave appears to promote breastfeeding practices in LMICs. Our findings suggest a potential mechanism to reduce barriers to breastfeeding for working mothers.

Indexed as

breastfeeding durationdifference-in-differencesearly initiation of breastfeedingexclusive breastfeedinglongitudinal datalow- and middle-income countriespaid maternity leave policy

Identifiers

PMID30364395
PMCPMC6195155

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.