Prepare The Crucifixion: Single Mothers Are Less Likely To Breastfeed Their Kids

breastfeedingSingle mothers certainly deal with more than their fair share of bad mommy press. If single mommies aren’t revealed to struggle with alcoholism, then raising children on their own leaves them vulnerable to a host of other health problems. But a recent look at breastfeeding numbers reveals that these women have yet a new cultural scrutiny to answer to — perhaps one of the biggest in Mommyland — as single mothers are less likely to meet exclusive breastfeeding requirements than partnered women.

Ready the “breast is best” slings and arrows, ladies — the single mothers edition.

Reuters reports that in a study of more than 3,000 pregnant who intended to exclusively breastfeed, two-thirds didn’t meet their goals — ranging from several weeks to upwards of seven months. While hospital postpartum care influenced whether women stuck to their breastfeeding intentions, researchers did find that “certain women” were more likely to throw in the towel than others.

Specifically, mothers who were obese, smoked or said they would exclusively breastfeed longer than most were less likely to meet their goals. Meanwhile, mothers who were married or in a partnership were more likely to meet their goals than single moms.

Single mothers can find themselves grouped right in with the smokers on that one, providing yet another shade of stigma that this superhuman cohort doesn’t need.

(photo: niderlander/ Shutterstock)

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