OBJECTIVES: This study examined the impact of cesarean section delivery on the initiation and duration of breast-feeding in the 1987 Mexican Demographic and Health Survey. METHODS: The subsample (n = 2517) was restricted to women whose delivery of their last-born children (aged 5 years and younger) was attended by a physician. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between cesarean section and likelihood of either not initiating breast-feeding or doing so for less than 1 month. Among women who breast-fed for 1 month or more, multivariate survival analysis was used to examine the relationship between cesarean section and breast-feeding duration. RESULTS: Cesarean section was a risk factor for not initiating breast-feeding (odds ratio [OR] = 0.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.50, 0.82) and for breast feeding for less than 1 month (OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.37, 0.91) but was unrelated to breast-feeding duration among women who breast-fed for 1 month or more (OR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.86, 1.11). CONCLUSIONS: It is desirable to provide additional breast-feeding support during the early postpartum period to women who deliver via cesarean sections.

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