A recent study conducted by researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that African-American women were less likely to receive breastfeeding support compared to white women.
Study author and CDC epidemiologist Jennifer Lind worked with her colleagues in analyzing the records from 2,727 birth centers and hospitals in the United States in an attempt to explain the variance between the breastfeeding supports received by black women compared to other races.
The findings showed that black women were 16 percent less likely to receive encouragement to breastfeed than white women.
The researchers also examined the ideal maternity care that birth centers and hospitals provided to mothers and compared this to the number of African-American residents in the area. Maternity wards containing more black residents were 50 percent less likely to discourage mothers from using formula milk as a substitute to breastfeeding. These areas were also seven percent more likely to provide pacifiers to the newborns, which may affect breastfeeding.
Fourteen percent of white women, on the other hand, received proper education and were encouraged to breastfeed. The maternity wards also let newborns stay by their mother's side after birth to further promote breastfeeding.
"This study shows the best support is not where it's most needed," Dr. Miriam Labbok told Reuters Health in a telephone interview. "If we could just change the hospital practices, I think we could have a lot more equity." Labbok is the founding director of the Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute and is not part of the study.
The researchers admitted that further study is needed to fully establish the reason behind the disparities in the maternity care provided and its relation to certain races. The team also plans to determine whether poor maternity care practices are related to lower breastfeeding rates in particular locations.
Details of the study were published in the Aug. 22 issue of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
