In the latest issue of the journal 'BIRTH' there is an article titled
'Racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding among United States infants:
third national health and nutrition examination survey, 1988-1994'.
The study used BF data reported by parents at the time of interview from the
health and nutrition study in the article title.  The authors include tables
showing differences between the three categories 'Non-Hispanic White',
'Non-Hispanic Black ' and 'Mexican American', not mentioning other ethnic or
skin color groups.  There are three tables, showing the proportions of
children in the various groups who were ever BF at all, who were exclusively
BF at four months, and who were receiving any breastmilk at 6 months.  Each
table uses the same list of possible confounders, such as income,
educational level, smoking, maternal BMI, and many more.
Exclusive BF for the purposes of this study includes those babies who were
receiving water in addition to breastmilk, but nothing else. The authors
comment on this in their discussion about the study's limitations.
The article concludes:
'Compared with whites, blacks had consistently lower BF rates regardless of
their sociodemographic status. The rates were generally lower among
socioeconomically disadvantaged subgroups for each race and ethnicity, but
the differentials between high and low socioeconomic classes were most
substantial among blacks. This study provides baseline statistics of racial
and ethnic disparities on initiation, duration and exclusivity of BF: which
are useful for evaluating BF programs, planning future BF goals, and
prioritizing public health strategies to ensure optimal use of resources in
the US. Black women, particularly those with low socioeconomic status, need
to be targeted for protection, promotion and support of BF.'

Although the data are old, it seems unlikely that these disparities would
have diminished since 1994. I recommend getting hold of BIRTH and reading
it, it is interesting. There are three articles about BF in this issue; the
others deal with home-based support vs. hospital based, and the effects of
maternal confidence on BF duration.
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

cheers
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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