Breastfeeding. To some, it's a touchy topic. To others, it only makes sense to breastfeed their babies and many aren't afraid to whip out their breast to feed their child. For African American mothers, the topic gives mixed results. There are many barriers that African American mothers face when it comes to breastfeeding, and it's time to break down these barriers.
Breastfeeding has many benefits for both mother and child, including strengthening the bond between mom and baby, enhancing baby's immunity, and preventing chronic diseases in the baby's life like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol levels. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life. This means that baby should only be drinking breastmilk and nothing else, not even formula or water. With high standards like this, it's no wonder that so many mothers feel let down or inadequate when they can't produce milk, or can't produce enough milk, or choose to formula feed.
In today's world, the number of mothers who choose to breastfeed is on the rise, yet the number of African American mothers who breastfeed is still trailing behind women of other races and ethnicities, particularly Caucasian mothers. African American women face many societal barriers when it comes to breastfeeding, including the history of wet nurses and slavery, unsupportive healthcare facilities, lack of paid maternity leave and support at work, among others. Many of these barriers could be overcome with more funding and backing from the federal government.
There are many federal programs that support breastfeeding mothers, but the main program is Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) which provides nutrition education, nutritious foods, and breastfeeding support to mothers and children who are at nutritional risk. Just this year, the Trump administration has cut funding to WIC by $610 million from 2018, and $810 million from 2017. This means that WIC sites don't have as much support or resources to meet the growing needs of mothers. If WIC were more funded, they would be able to engage more with the community (such as workplaces) to normalize breastfeeding, increase breastfeeding rates in African American women, and expand their breastfeeding pump loan program so that every mother who chooses can receive a breast pump kit.
But we don't have to stop there! Another large barrier is that there are zero weeks of paid maternity leave. This is unsettling to many because that means they don't have as much time with their babies after they're born and therefore the babies lose out on all the breastfeeding benefits. To improve upon this, the US government needs to incorporate paid family leave into the Family and Medical Leave Act. It only makes sense to have paid medical leave, because that eases the already high stress of early parenthood.
All in all, to increase the rate of breastfeeding African American mothers, there needs to be sweeping changes at the federal level. This would trickle down to the state level, county level, city level, and community level. These changes aren't just for the good of African American mothers, this is for the good of future adults and leaders of tomorrow.
Breastfeeding has many benefits for both mother and child, including strengthening the bond between mom and baby, enhancing baby's immunity, and preventing chronic diseases in the baby's life like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol levels. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life. This means that baby should only be drinking breastmilk and nothing else, not even formula or water. With high standards like this, it's no wonder that so many mothers feel let down or inadequate when they can't produce milk, or can't produce enough milk, or choose to formula feed.
In today's world, the number of mothers who choose to breastfeed is on the rise, yet the number of African American mothers who breastfeed is still trailing behind women of other races and ethnicities, particularly Caucasian mothers. African American women face many societal barriers when it comes to breastfeeding, including the history of wet nurses and slavery, unsupportive healthcare facilities, lack of paid maternity leave and support at work, among others. Many of these barriers could be overcome with more funding and backing from the federal government.
There are many federal programs that support breastfeeding mothers, but the main program is Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) which provides nutrition education, nutritious foods, and breastfeeding support to mothers and children who are at nutritional risk. Just this year, the Trump administration has cut funding to WIC by $610 million from 2018, and $810 million from 2017. This means that WIC sites don't have as much support or resources to meet the growing needs of mothers. If WIC were more funded, they would be able to engage more with the community (such as workplaces) to normalize breastfeeding, increase breastfeeding rates in African American women, and expand their breastfeeding pump loan program so that every mother who chooses can receive a breast pump kit.
But we don't have to stop there! Another large barrier is that there are zero weeks of paid maternity leave. This is unsettling to many because that means they don't have as much time with their babies after they're born and therefore the babies lose out on all the breastfeeding benefits. To improve upon this, the US government needs to incorporate paid family leave into the Family and Medical Leave Act. It only makes sense to have paid medical leave, because that eases the already high stress of early parenthood.
All in all, to increase the rate of breastfeeding African American mothers, there needs to be sweeping changes at the federal level. This would trickle down to the state level, county level, city level, and community level. These changes aren't just for the good of African American mothers, this is for the good of future adults and leaders of tomorrow.
Great blog post! Thank you for evidence-based information on the benefits of breast feeding and spreading the word that breast is definitely best. I was completely unaware of the extraordinary cuts to WIC funding, and something needs to be done!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how you summarized your topic into a short, yet informative blog post! Nice work. I learned even more about WIC and the funding of breastfeeding as well.
ReplyDeleteNice work! I didn't know about the drastic cuts to WIC funding either. When I was interning at WIC this past summer, I interacted with so many mothers of varying heritage; African American mothers included. The WIC facility was so important to the health of the mothers as well as their infants and children. I wholeheartedly advocate for the usage of WIC services and am appalled at how underfunded this necessary service is.
ReplyDeleteI thourougly enjoyed your blog post and information on the lack of breastfeeding among the African American population. I feel that the loss of funding to many essential programs, such as WIC, will truly hinder the development and growth of future generations. Regarding paid maternity leave, there should be lobbying to make it illegal for employers to not allow mothers the essential bonding time needed after bringing a new child into the home (I also think that fathers should get some sort of paternity leave, too!!). Great blog read overall!!
ReplyDeleteso interesting! WIC is a great program to have in place and is so beneficial to mamas and their babies. It is sad the African American population suffers from breast feeding, it is a belief and desire of mine that every woman get the chance and choice to breastfeed if they so desire. Good work!
ReplyDeleteI like your clear call to action! Though it has become more normal in the past few years, talking about breastfeeding is still taboo in some communities. I knew it was important, but not how important. I had never thought about the extensive effect of wet nursing on African American women. The funding cut to organizations like WIC upsets me. Do they focus on all mothers or do they have programs specifically dedicated to increasing the number of breastfeeding African American mothers?
ReplyDeleteThank you for such an enlightening post. I am not at all well-informed regarding breast feeding in the workplace or really anywhere in public. It is unbelievable that there is zero paid maternity leave. Thank you for your great research paper post.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I am having a hard time seeing how this problem primarily relates to black women. I like what you have to say but I feel like there was a bit of a missed opportunity to expand on how heavily this issue effects black women specifically. I think I might've gotten lost in translation. Great post though.
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