scholarly journals Exclusive Breastfeeding Experiences among Mexican American Women

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Wambach ◽  
Elaine Williams Domian ◽  
Sallie Page-Goertz ◽  
Heather Wurtz ◽  
Kelli Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Exclusive Breastfeeding ◽  
Mexican Americans ◽  
Mexican American ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Breastfeeding Duration ◽  
Mexican American Women ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
American Women

Background:According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hispanic breastfeeding mothers begin early formula supplementation at higher rates than other ethnic groups, which can lead to shorter breastfeeding duration and decreased exclusive breastfeeding. Acculturation, the process of adopting beliefs and behaviors of another culture, appears to influence breastfeeding practices of Hispanic women in the United States. Little is known about Mexican American mothers’ formula use and exclusive breastfeeding within the context of acculturation.Objective:Our study identified perceived benefits and barriers to exclusive breastfeeding and levels of acculturation among Mexican American women living in a Midwestern city.Methods:We used a qualitative descriptive design integrating Pender’s Health Promotion Model concepts. Individual interviews were conducted in English or Spanish (N = 21). The revised Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans was used to examine acculturation levels.Results:Acculturation scores indicated that the majority (66%) of the sample was “very Mexican oriented.” Most women exclusively breastfed, with a few using early supplementation for “insufficient milk production.” Three themes emerged: (1) It is natural that a woman give life and also provide the best food for her baby; (2) Breastfeeding is ultimately a woman’s decision but is influenced by tradition, guidance, and encouragement; and (3) Breast milk is superior but life circumstances can challenge one’s ability to breastfeed.Conclusion:Strong familial/cultural traditions supported and normalized breastfeeding. Barriers to exclusive breastfeeding were similar to breastfeeding women in general, in the United States. Findings support the need for culturally competent and individualized lactation care.

Self-Reports of Spousal Violence in a Mexican-American and Non-Hispanic White Population

1991 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan B. Sorenson ◽  
Cynthia A. Telles
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Mexican Americans ◽  
Mexican American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spousal Violence ◽  
Mexican American Women ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Hispanic White

As part of a survey of Los Angeles households, 1,243 Mexican Americans and 1,149 non-Hispanic whites were surveyed about their experiences of spousal violence. Questions to assess violence included both perpetration (whether they had been physically violent toward a partner) and victimization (whether they had been the victim of sexual assault by a partner). Over one-fifth (21.2%) of the respondents indicated that they had, at one or more times in their lives, hit or thrown things at their current or former spouse or partner. Spousal violence rates for Mexican Americans born in Mexico and non-Hispanic whites born in the United States were nearly equivalent (20.0% and 21.6%, respectively); rates were highest for Mexican Americans born in the United States (30.9%). While overall rates of sexual assault were lower for Mexican Americans, one-third of the most recent incidents reported by Mexico-born Mexican-American women involved the husband and approximated rape.

scholarly journals Predictors of Gestational Weight Gain in Mexican American Women in Los Angeles

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 01-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Mielke ◽  
Nicholas Gorman
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Gestational Diabetes ◽  
Gestational Weight Gain ◽  
Mexican Americans ◽  
Mexican American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mexican American Women ◽  
American Women ◽  
Gestational Weight

Background and Significance: Extremes of gestational weight gain (GWG) are associated with newborn and pregnancy complications, postpartum obesity and chronic illnesses. In the United States, Mexican American women are the largest subgroup of Hispanics but have been studied least often. The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and predictors of GWG in Mexican American women. Methods: A retrospective, correlational design used data from charts (n=684) in a federally qualified health center in Los Angeles. Prevalence of GWG was inadequate, 22%; adequate, 33%; and excessive, 45%. Risk factors for excessive GWG were hypertension (p = .04), overweight (p = .00), or obese pre-pregnancy BMI (p = .01). Conversely, women who had gestational diabetes (p = .02), ate more snacks (p = .01), were multiparous (p = .03), and less acculturated (p = .03) experienced less excessive gain. Conclusions: Efforts to prevent excessive GWG in Mexican Americans should be targeted to women having their first baby and those with high pre-pregnancy BMI. One strategy may be recommending diet/exercise similar to that used in women with gestational diabetes. For women who are less acculturated and/or who are multiparous, strategies that will minimize inadequate GWG may improve newborn outcomes.

Good Neighbor in the American Historical Imagination: Mexican American Intellectual Thought in the Fight for Civil Rights, 1930s–1940s

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Mendoza
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Mexican Americans ◽  
Mexican American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Historical Imagination ◽  
American Intellectual ◽  
Good Neighbor

Abstract This article argues that historical narrative has held a significant role in Mexican American identity formation and civil rights activism by examining the way Mexican Americans in the 1930s and 1940s used history to claim full citizenship status in Texas. In particular, it centers on how George I. Sánchez (1906–1972), a scholar of Latin American education, revised historical narrative by weaving history and foreign policy together through a pragmatic lens. To educators and federal officials, Sánchez used this revisionist history to advocate for Mexican Americans, insisting that the Good Neighbor policy presented the United States with the chance to translate into reality the democratic ideals long professed in the American historical imagination. The example of Sánchez also prompts us to reexamine the historiography in our present day: How do we define the tradition and trajectory of Mexican American intellectual thought in U.S. history? This article posits that when Sánchez and other Mexican Americans thought about their community’s collective identity and civil rights issues through history, they were contributing to a longer conversation driven by questions about identity formation and equality that first emerged at the end of the U.S. War with Mexico in 1848. These questions remain salient in the present, indicating the need for a historiographic examination that will change how we imagine the tradition of intellectual thought in the United States.

scholarly journals Daily and Nondaily Smoking Varies by Acculturation among English-Speaking, US Latino Men and Women

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Pulvers ◽  
A. Paula Cupertino ◽  
Taneisha S. Scheuermann ◽  
Lisa Sanderson Cox ◽  
Yen-Yi Ho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Relative Risk ◽  
Mexican Americans ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Latino Men ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Nondaily Smoking

<p><strong>Background: </strong>Higher smoking prevalence and quantity (cigarettes per day) has been linked to acculturation in the United States among Latinas, but not Latino men. Our study examines variation between a dif­ferent and increasingly important target behavior, smoking level (nondaily vs daily) and acculturation by sex.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An online English-language sur­vey was administered to 786 Latino smokers during July through August 2012. The Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans–II (ARSMA-II) and other accul­turation markers were used. Multinomial lo­gistic regression models were implemented to assess the association between smoking levels (nondaily, light daily, and moderate/ heavy daily) with acculturation markers.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Greater ARMSA-II scores (rela­tive risk ratio, <em>RRR</em>=.81, 95% CI: .72-.91) and being born inside the United States (<em>RRR</em>=.42, 95% CI: .24-.74) were associated with lower relative risk of nondaily smoking. Greater Latino orientation (<em>RRR</em>=1.29, 95% CI: 1.11-1.48) and preference for Spanish language (<em>RRR</em>=1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.10) and media (<em>RRR</em>=1.12, 95% CI: 1.05-1.20) were associated with higher relative risk of nondaily smoking. The relationship between acculturation and smoking level did not differ by sex.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study found that among both male and female, English-speaking Latino smokers, nondaily smoking was associated with lower acculturation, while daily smoking was linked with higher ac­culturation.</p><p><em>Ethn Dis. </em>2018.28(2):105-114; doi:10.18865/ed.28.2.105.</p>

Effectiveness of Workplace Lactation Interventions on Breastfeeding Outcomes in the United States: An Updated Systematic Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia H. Kim ◽  
Jong C. Shin ◽  
Sharon M. Donovan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Exclusive Breastfeeding ◽  
Maternity Leave ◽  
The United States ◽  
Breastfeeding Duration ◽  
Breastfeeding Initiation ◽  
White Ethnicity ◽  
Observational Study Design ◽  
The Impact

Background Returning to work is one of the main barriers to breastfeeding duration among working mothers in the United States. However, the impact of workplace lactation programs is unclear. Research Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of workplace lactation programs in the United States on breastfeeding practices. Methods A systematic search was conducted of seven databases through September 2017. Articles ( N = 10) meeting the inclusion criteria of describing a workplace lactation intervention and evaluation in the United States and measuring initiation, exclusivity, or duration using an experimental or observational study design were critically evaluated. Two reviewers conducted quality assessments and reviewed the full-text articles during the analysis. Results Common services provided were breast pumps, social support, lactation rooms, and breastfeeding classes. Breastfeeding initiation was very high, ranging from 87% to 98%. Several factors were significantly associated with duration of exclusive breastfeeding: (a) receiving a breast pump for one year (8.3 versus 4.7 months), (b) return-to-work consultations (40% versus 17% at 6 months), and (c) telephone support (42% versus 15% at 6 months). Each additional service (except prenatal education) dose-dependently increased exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months. Sociodemographic information including older maternal age, working part-time, longer maternity leave, and white ethnicity were associated with longer breastfeeding duration. Conclusion Workplace lactation interventions increased breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusive breastfeeding, with greater changes observed with more available services. More evidence is needed on the impact of workplace support in low-income populations, and the cost-effectiveness of these programs in reducing health care costs.

The Virgin of Guadalupe as an Iconic Image in Mexican Culture

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlene Villaseñor Black
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Mexican American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mexican American Women ◽  
Virgin Of Guadalupe ◽  
Peace And Justice ◽  
Iconic Image ◽  
Religious Devotion ◽  
The Hill

According to believers, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared in 1531 to recent indigenous convert Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac, north of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, an area in the environs of Mexico City. The series of apparitions culminated with the miraculous appearance of her image imprinted on his native cloak, or tilma. This painting, housed in the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in the Villa de Guadalupe in northern Mexico City, has been venerated from the 16th century. The Virgin of Guadalupe is considered the patroness of Mexico, and special protector of its native and mestizo populations. She is perhaps the best-known symbol of Mexico, and her image is very common in the fine and popular arts. She has played a number of roles over the centuries—as object of religious devotion, emblem of national pride, symbol of peace and justice, and feminist icon. Similarly, her image has transformed over time, from the original sacred icon of 1531 to controversial contemporary images from the 1970s. Her image is also frequent in the United States, where 20th- and 21st century Chicana/o (Mexican American) artists represent her in community murals, prints, photographs, sculptures, and paintings. Chicana (Mexican American) women artists have transformed her into a feminist icon, generating controversy and provoking censorship in both the United States and Mexico. Held sacred by many Mexican, Chicana/o, and Latina/o Catholics, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe has never been neutral, but instead, represents the mutability and political potential of Catholic sacred imagery.

Endorsements by Mexican-Americans of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory: Cross-Ethnic Comparison

1999 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoko Sugihara ◽  
Judith A. Warner
Keyword(s):  
Mexican Americans ◽  
Mexican American ◽  
Sex Role ◽  
Lower Percentage ◽  
Original Sample ◽  
Mexican American Women ◽  
Inventory Analysis ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
American Women ◽  
Significant Difference

Gender-related personality traits among Mexican-American men and women were examined. The sample consisted of 307 Mexican-Americans (150 women, 157 men) in a predominantly Mexican and Mexican-American community in South Texas. Mexican-American men scored significantly higher than the women on eight masculine items, whereas Mexican-American women scored higher than the men on four feminine items. A comparison between the scores of Mexican-Americans on the Bern Sex-Role Inventory with those of the original sample in the inventory's manual showed that the scores for the Masculinity and Femininity subscales for both Mexican-American men and women were not significantly different from those of the original sample. A significant difference, however, was found on some of the items of the inventory. Analysis also indicated that more Mexican-American men were categorized as Feminine and Androgynous than were non-Hispanic Euro-American males in the original sample. Among Mexican-American women there were more individuals classified as Masculine and Undifferentiated and a lower percentage as Feminine than among the original sample. Implications and recommendations based on the results are discussed.

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