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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Katryne Lukens Bull, MPH, CHES, Division of Community Nutrition, Duval County Health Department, 21 Sandra Dr, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250, 904-994-6864, katrynelb@yahoo.com, Nancy Winterbauer, PhD, Division of Health Policy Research and Evaluation, Duval County Department of Health and University of North Florida, 900 University Blvd N. Ste 604, Jacksonville, FL 32211, and Helen Jackson, PhD, MSRD, Division of Community Nutrition Services, Duval County Health Department, 900 University Blvd N Ste 600, Jacksonville, FL 32211.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, post neonatal infant mortality rates in the United States are reduced by 21% in breastfed infants. Although the benefits of breastfeeding are well known, low income, African American women have the lowest rates of breastfeeding at time of discharge and also at 3 and 6 months after discharge. Researchers have identified a multitude of barriers to breastfeeding. However, few have examined ways in which the rights of mothers to breastfeed their infants are undermined by their community and the health professionals and systems that serve them. This presentation first describes the A Gift for Life (AGFL) breastfeeding program, designed to increase breastfeeding rates/duration among women enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Jacksonville, Fl. The AGFL program assigns breastfeeding mothers to community advocates trained in breastfeeding support. Next, preliminary baseline data from the AGFL program evaluation are presented. Women participating in the evaluation were assigned to a control group, which received standard care, or an intervention group, which received intensive postnatal follow-up. Participants were interviewed about breastfeeding experiences before birth, focusing particularly on interactions with healthcare providers, and during the first postnatal week. Finally, discussion centers on structural arrangements in the lives of these women, which shape their infant feeding choices. Chief among these are anti-breastfeeding marketing during pregnancy, hospital policies that undermine the breastfeeding dyad, lack of exposure to intergenerational breastfeeding practices, and lack of support for mothers who are having difficulties breastfeeding.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• Describe the relationship between, and disparities in, infant mortality and breast feeding.
• Identify social structural arrangements that undermine the right of mothers to breastfeed their infants.
• Describe how lay health workers can participate as community advocates in the lives of breastfeeding mothers.

Keywords: Women, Breast Feeding

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation