Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Survey (N= 3,567), we examine the links between relationship status, relationship quality, and race and ethnicity in breastfeeding initiation. We consider four relationship types: married, cohabiting, romantically involved but not cohabiting (termed visiting), and nonromantically involved…

The historical context of teen pregnancy in the US and its evolution to the present embodiment of the predominantly urban "welfare mother" developed from specific socio-historical contexts that deemed early childbirth, especially illegitimate pregnancies, as morally and socially deviant. Two conceptual elements missing within the literature on…

We compare contemporaneous and retrospective reports of cohabitation among unmarried mothers in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing survey (N = 2,524). We find that (a) many mothers revise their reports of whether they cohabited at the time of the birth of their child and (b) revisions in reports are systematically related to individuals'…

The promotion of marriage and two-parent families as a strategy to reduce welfare dependency continues to be a major public policy goal of the 1996 welfare reform. Based on the assumption that women will marry employed men and that their earnings will lift poor mothers and their children from public dependency, this objective raises important…

Utilizing a biographical approach and network analysis, this article examines one South Australian woman's life of public and Methodist social welfare service in the post-suffrage era. It is argued that although Kate Cocks (1875-1954) viewed her welfare work as "a God-given mission", as "practical Christian service", personal…

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major mental health disorder that affects at least 13 percent of new mothers and has detrimental consequences for populations that are of concern to social workers, such as low-income women, women of color, young women, and single mothers. Despite the relevance of PPD to multiple social work problems and…

This article explores the politics surrounding the education of pregnant/mothering students. Utilizing Title IX, which guarantees the rights of pregnant/mothering students to an education equal to her peers, as an analytical lens, the author specifically identifies how absences in knowledge, research, and practice about the education of…

Adolescent pregnancy has occurred throughout America's history. Only in recent years has it been deemed an urgent crisis, as more young adolescent mothers give birth outside of marriage. At-risk circumstances associated with adolescent pregnancy include medical and health complications, less schooling and higher dropout rates, lower career…

Researchers in many fields agree. The physical, social, and economic health and well-being of adults and society as a whole are strongly influenced by the early experiences of children, when the foundation for effective cognitive and social skills and abilities are developed. Children who have developmental delays or disabilities require and often…

Studies by many scientists have shown that the fetal period is the most important one for the development of a baby. It has been shown that this is the time when the basis for many diseases of the adult is formed. Among risk factors, the work environment is of considerable importance, as its influence on the woman's organism stands at 25 to 40…