Supporting Breastfeeding within African-American Communities: Evidence-Based and Research-Informed Practices

Pennsylvania DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH March 16, 2018 Supporting Breastfeeding within African-American Communities: Evidence-Based and Research-Informed Practices Purpose Deciding whether or not to breastfeed is one of many decisions families face when a pregnancy occurs. The decision is a personal one, influenced by many factors in a woman's personal life and the greater social environment. The decision to breastfeed can improve and protect the health and well-being of a mother and baby over a lifetime and is a nationally and internationally recognized key to health promotion. While the breastfeeding rates of all women have increased across the nation and in Pennsylvania, African-American women are breastfeeding at lower rates than other racial or ethnic groups. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for agencies and stakeholders in utilizing evidence- based or research-informed strategies to address the promotion of breastfeeding within African- American populations. This document examines the context in which African-American women make the decision to breastfeed by providing an overview of relevant research identifying barriers to initiating and maintaining breastfeeding practices. It outlines a variety of practical evidence-based or research-informed strategies stakeholders can use to build on strengths, address identified barriers, and enhance the promotion and adoption of breastfeeding within African-American communities. Defining the Target Population To continue encouraging breastfeeding as a healthy choice for mothers and babies, it is important to understand the status of breastfeeding and breastfeeding promotion within the Commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Department of Health (the Department) and it partners promote the decision to breastfeed through robust statewide programming engaging birth facilities through the Keystone 10 initiative, targeting initiatives in counties with low breastfeeding rates, and implementing education and training of health care professionals through the EPIC-BEST program. The data below are drawn from Pennsylvania (PA) birth certificate and Pennsylvania Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Program (PA PRAMS) data sets. This information can assist local health departments and community-based programs to identify the characteristics of mothers who report breastfeeding, as well as those who report not breastfeeding, and to enable programs to identify target populations, the Bureau of Family Health analyzed state-level pregnancy and birth outcomes datasets. If available, local health departments and community-based providers are encouraged to analyze their own data to determine if there are additional characteristics which may help them define target populations within their communities. Overall, the percentage of mothers that report breastfeeding has increased across all races and ethnicities. From 2009-2014, PA birth certificate data on breastfeeding reflect a statistically significant f Statistical significance means a result from statistical testing is not likely to occur randomly or by chance, but instead is likely to be attributable to a specific cause. 1 | P a g e