WUNRN
USA - BLACK MOTHERS UNITE
TO RECLAIM THEIR BREASTFEEDING TRADITION - VIDEO
A breastfeeding association has released a new video, joining several efforts over the past few years to raise the volume on the hindrances to breastfeeding in the black community nationwide.
Website Link Includes Black Mothers'
Breastfeeding Association Video.
(WOMENSENEWS)--In
Organizers
and advocates are also talking about ways to overcome historical, societal and
social barriers to breastfeeding success. To spread and promote its message it
has produced a micro documentary, "Knocking Down Barriers:
Reclaiming a Breastfeeding Tradition."
Breastfeeding supporters are also turning to Twitter to help spark a conversation about the film and the domination of infant formula marketing.
Nationwide Efforts
These
activists join several efforts over the past few years to raise the volume on
the barriers to breastfeeding in the black community across the country.
The Atlanta-based
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
reported in 2013 that black mothers nationwide lag behind other racial and
ethnic groups when it comes to breastfeeding. In a recent CDC study, 54 percent of black mothers
initiated breastfeeding compared with 74 percent of white mothers and 80
percent of Hispanic mothers. The CDC said this gap persists regardless of
income and educational attainment.
In June
2012, the
Black Mothers' Breastfeeding Association was given a $100,000
grant from the W.K.
Kellogg Foundation to close the racial gap in breastfeeding rates.
The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health launched the campaign "It's Only Natural" in April 2013 to
educate black families about the importance of breastfeeding.
In March, Praeclarus Press published the book "Free to Breastfeed: Voices of Black Women" by Jeanine
Valrie Logan, a blogger and program director
of Chicago Volunteer Doulas, Inc, and Anayah
Sangodele-Ayoka, co-founder of Black
Breastfeeding Week and the Free to Breastfeed support website. In it, the
authors relate the breastfeeding experiences of black mothers that have been
largely ignored by mainstream media.
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