David alerted us to this. I encourage Lactnetters, especially in the U.S., to
take the time to read it, and bring it to the attentin of your colleagues.

From "Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Breastfeeding --- United
States, 2004", MMWR weekly, March 31, 2006/55(12;335-559

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5512a3.htm?s_cid=mm5512a3_e


<Although racial and economic disparities in breastfeeding initiation rates
appear to have decreased in recent decades, they have not been eliminated.
Barriers to breastfeeding initiation and continuation include lack of social
support, lack of proper guidance from health-care providers, lack of
adequate or timely postpartum follow-up care, and disruptive hospital
maternity-care practices ( e.g., delays in breastfeeding initiation, use of
pacifiers by newborns, and hospital promotion of formula through the
provision of free formula in hospital discharge packs) (*1,9*). Public
health measures to promote breastfeeding should continue and should target
groups with the lowest initiation rates, such as black mothers in rural (
i.e., non-MSA) areas or aged <20 years, mothers who have not completed high
school, and participants in the WIC program.>

Phone and personal contact with WIC clients has given me a better
opportunity to gain an idea of the quality of support of significant others
of nursing moms than I could get when working in a hospital. It's going to
take more than a generation or two to change the culture of some families
sufficiently, so let's not lose hope.

Last week, we had a young mother who decided to formula feed her second
child despite the fact that she had breastfed her first child, pumping while
she was at school. Her own mother, with whom she still lived, and who
purchsed any extra formula needed and cared for her children while she
worked, accompanied her into the WIC office,  obviously pushing the young
mom to ask for formula.

She loudly and firmly asserted that of course breastfeeding was better in
the olden days, but nowadays with all the pollution of air, water etc.,
breast milk wasn't as good any more. Pointing out to her that cows have
outdoor air and even dirtier water made absolutely no difference in
argument. The young mother just looked at us and shrugged hopelessly and
acquiesced to her influence. I followed her up the hall and quietly
reassured her that she could do anything she chose when alone with her baby,
and that any breastfeeding at all was good for them both.

The quality of support of those one lives with, or lack of it, is so very
important. I often wonder if there is more we can do on a one to one basis
for the people who form the individual mother's support system.

Jean
**********************
K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC
Dayton. OH   USA

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