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UrduDespite breastfeeding being recommended for at least two years, only 36 percent of all infants are still breastfed at their first birthday. Black/African American mothers are least likely to initiate breastfeeding with initiation rates of only 74 percent compared to 90 percent of Asian mothers with a national average of 84 percent. Given the disparities in breastfeeding initiation, there are likely to be equivalent disparities in breastfeeding duration.
Tag: Diane Spatz
Promoting and Protecting Human Milk and Breastfeeding During COVID-19
With stressors mounting daily on the health care system due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a de-prioritization of the childbearing family has been noted. Their care has changed, resulting in mothers forced to go through labor and birth without their partners, parents barred from NICU visitation, and discharge of mothers and newborns early without enough expert lactation care. There is great concern that these changes in childbearing families’ care may become permanent – to the detriment of the health of both mother and child.
Addressing Breastfeeding Disparities for African American Mothers
An abundance of data underscore the importance of breastfeeding and human milk for the optimal health of infants, children, mothers, and society. But while breastfeeding initiation rates have increased to more than 80% in the U.S., a disparity exists for African American mothers and infants. In this group, breastfeeding is initiated only about 69% of the time.
How the Pandemic Disrupts Breastfeeding Experiences
The COVID-19 pandemic and the implications of physical distancing have disrupted new mothers’ birth and breastfeeding experiences even if they are not COVID-19 positive or a person awaiting results. In a new case series report from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), researchers share common concerns and experiences as reported by three first-time, healthy mothers regarding the disruption of their birth plans and breastfeeding experiences.