WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women’s Health (OWH) recently celebrated the winners of the final phase in the Reducing Disparities in Breastfeeding Innovation Challenge. The nationwide competition aimed to uncover and reward programs that boost breastfeeding initiation and continuation rates while diminishing disparities among breastfeeding mothers nationwide.
With an objective to ensure infants obtain the short- and long-term benefits of breastmilk, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans commends exclusive breastfeeding for the earliest 6 months of an infant’s life. The effects of breastfeeding echo far beyond mere nutrition, fostering a strong immune system in babies and providing essential nutrients for their development. In addition, it creates a unique bonding experience for mothers, simultaneously reducing their risk of falling into postpartum depression.
Parents might also be intrigued to learn that breastfeeding lessens the risk of their baby contracting Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and in later life, curtails the risk of obesity, asthma, type I diabetes, and high cholesterol. Similarly, it benefits breastfeeding mothers themselves by decreasing postpartum blood loss and anemia and lowering the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, hypertension, and type II diabetes.
Despite these profound benefits, statistical data has revealed racial disparities in breastfeeding rates in the United States. Fewer non-Hispanic Black infants (74%) are ever breastfed compared with their Asian (90%), non-Hispanic White (87%), and Hispanic (84%) counterparts.
This disparity sparked the Breastfeeding Innovation Challenge, an initiative to promote breastfeeding education, support, and advocacy, especially in communities of color. The phase III winners showcased their effectiveness in increasing breastfeeding initiation and/or continuation rates and addressing racial/ethnic disparities among breastfeeding mothers.
One of the winners, “All Moms Empowered to Nurse” (AMEN), a peer-to-peer breastfeeding support group established in Ohio, has seen an increase in breastfeeding initiation among non-Hispanic Black women. Similarly, Massachusetts-based non-profit Baby Café USA has created a weekly drop-in community breastfeeding support center available in 32 states, with a whopping 40% of participants who identified as Black, Hispanic, Multiracial, or Indigenous, successfully achieving their breastfeeding goal in 2022.
Additionally, the Community Health Center of Richmond, Inc. (CHCR) and the District of Columbia Breastfeeding Coalition (DCBFC) have made noteworthy strides. CHCR has raised breastfeeding continuation rates among its participants, while DCBFC has improved lactation support services for pediatric patients.
Meanwhile, the Mississippi CHAMPS Program (MS CHAMPS), part of Boston Medical Center’s Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research, has helped increase the rate of breastfeeding exclusivity and initiation in Mississippi hospitals.
The sentiment that echoes from the success of these innovative programs is that education and support for breastfeeding mothers are crucial. The push towards eliminating racial disparities in breastfeeding across the U.S. is gaining momentum, with these programs leading the way in fostering healthier mothers and babies in all communities across the country.
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