U.S. Breastfeeding.

 

There have been improvements in U.S. rates of exclusive breastfeeding. Some change in specific states has been rapid-- Tennessee jumped about 10% in one year. That is amazing. I also saw that The First Lady's Let's Move! Child Care initiative has a breastfeeding component that focuses on encouraging and supporting mother's that breastfeed. There also is an education component. I also found information on some community initiatives that aimed to provide a space for information and dialogue on breastfeeding. One of these community initiatives is called the African American Breastfeeding network (AABN)

The AABN is breastfeeding support group operating out of a Milwaukee YMCA (CDC, 2014). They host monthly meetings called Community Breastfeeding Gatherings (CBG) that bring together pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, their families, and International Board Certified Lactation Consultants. After a family style meal, organizers initiate an informal “community dialogue” in which fathers and mothers are introduced to key messages on how to support breastfeeding. AABN co-founder Dalvery Blackwell describes their purpose: “To move towards normalizing breastfeeding at the community level, we need to involve the entire family, not just mothers. Everybody has a responsibility in breastfeeding”. The ABBN have plans to replicate these CBG at other YMCAs in the Milwaukee area. This program clearly aims at increasing the knowledge and confidence of mother’s and their families. Further, they provide a community space for dialogue on issues facing the members of the community. 

I love this community focus. That people can bring their families and eat and it is more than strict information provision. From everything I have read, if breastfeeding is to be really encouraged or rates increased, than structural and societal conditions will need to be addressed and changed. Breastfeeding requires more than knowledge—it requires understanding. This understanding can only come through changing the public discourse on the topic. There are movements now and I believe women are more able to feed in public (legally). The degree to which OTHER people are comfortable with feeding in public will surely affect women more than any legal ramifications. Legal protections are more important in the work place, where the return to work is a major obstacle to practicing exclusive breastfeeding. Hourly workers have fewer protections—if they need to break to express, these breaks do not have to be paid for. So while you can take breaks, you will not be paid. If you work at Wendy’s, how are you going to be able to take the breaks you need? These issues of legality and comfort can’t be changed without strong advocacy and additional protections for women’s rights. I would imagine Joe Wall Street wouldn’t want his coworker next door to take frequent breaks, or bring her baby or infant to work. Women also report the need for additional support from the male figures in their life—be it the father of the child or grandfather or their father. Like I began with, there has been real increases in both the rates of exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding in general in the United States. We know this is best for the baby, but structural conditions need to catch up in order for that number to continue to increase.