Misconceptions and barriers to breastfeeding in Chinese American patients at a community health center in New York City: Preliminary findings from a needs assessment

Background: Breastfeeding leads to improved health in both infants and mothers. At the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center in New York City, approximately 39% of women are breastfeeding at 6 weeks post-partum compared to 70.3% nationwide. Misconceptions and barriers to breastfeeding in Chinese American mothers may potentially influence a preference for formula feeding over breastfeeding. To gain a better understanding of the low rates of breastfeeding among Chinese Americans in New York City, a needs assessment identified barriers and enabling factors to breastfeeding.

Methods: Exploration of misconceptions and barriers to breastfeeding in Chinese American mothers was completed through a mixed methods data collection approach involving a patient survey, provider focus groups and community informant interviews.

Results: Strong interconnections between the community, family, and individual perceptions of breastfeeding played major roles in influencing Chinese American mothers’ preference for formula feeding over breastfeeding. Several identified barriers include lack of social support, financial instability, lack of breastfeeding knowledge, and lack of access to linguistically sensitive health care resources at hospital delivery units.

Conclusions: A key strategy to increase breastfeeding rates within the target population is to increase community awareness and support for breastfeeding, targeting the knowledge level of the adults and/or caregivers in the household. The provision of culturally sensitive counseling, education, and support, especially at critical times before and after birth, can potentially lead to an increase in the percentage of new mothers initiating breastfeeding, exclusively breastfeeding, and lengthening the duration of breastfeeding.