261617 Linking Breastfeeding Promotion with the Fight Against Early Childhood Obesity at the Local Level

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Stacy Condie, MPHc , Department of Population Health and Disease Prevention, University California Irvine, Irvine, CA
Geraldine Perry-Williams, MSN, PHN , Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Department, Pasadena Public Health Department, Pasadena, CA
Childhood obesity is a concern for cities in the US. African American and Hispanic youths are the most at risk for the development of childhood obesity. Substantial research evidence shows that diet as early as infancy can have lifelong implications for obesity risk. Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the risk for development of childhood obesity. African American women and Hispanic women have the lowest rates of “any breastfeeding” and “exclusive breastfeeding” compared to whites, which may be an important opportunity for preventing childhood obesity. We conducted a record review of a local health department's postpartum patients' breastfeeding practices, where the rate of childhood obesity is 37%, among children 2-5 years old. Data was collected from patient records; it was analyzed to determine self reported rates of “any breastfeeding” and “exclusive breastfeeding”. Rates of “any breastfeeding” declined more than 20% among African American mothers, and more than 15% among Hispanic mothers; compared to the of rates of “any breastfeeding”, in these groups, at the time of leaving the hospital. This indicates the need for breastfeeding interventions in the first weeks after leaving the hospital especially among these women. As a response to the data/information generated the Health Department is launching a multifaceted breastfeeding promotion campaign and intervention to address this need in their community. Though the data indicate a reduction in rates of breastfeeding our findings must be approached with caution due to some inconsistencies in the initial gathering of the secondary data used.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the link between breastfeeding promotion among African American and Hispanic women in the prevention of childhood obesity and other chronic diseases.

Keywords: Breast Feeding, Chronic Diseases

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I conducted this record review as part of a summer internship at the health department; under the guidance and direction of Gerri Perry-Williams.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.