Dr. Debbie Wallace
Host of True Health Doctors
Adjunct Professor; Morehouse School of Medicine
The single most effective thing that fathers can do to protect babies is to support mothers’
breastfeeding. Every animal feeds their young this way at birth. Only humans have other options for feeding, but none of those options are superior to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding provides not
only optimal nutrition but breast milk is most easily digested and absorbed, protects babies’
digestive tracts while providing general immunity. A child is less likely to suffer childhood obesity if breastfed.
Breastfeeding is also good for mothers. A mother is more likely to return to her pre-pregnancy
weight if she breastfeeds, and it can be painful not to breastfeed when your body is producing milk. The Innocenti Declaration in 1989 even went so far as to say it reduced the risks of breast
and ovarian cancer. These claims have been most recently confirmed by a review of a number of
studies in 2017 by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer
Research Fund (WCRF).
“It isn’t always possible for moms to breastfeed but for those who can,
know that breastfeeding can offer cancer protection for both the mother and the child,” said Alice
Bender, AICR Director of Nutrition Program.
The World Health Organization [WHO] and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency
Fund [UNICEF] both recommend: “Early initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth,
exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of
age or beyond, with introduction of nutritionally adequate and safe complementary (solid) foods
at 6 months.”
In the first six months, breast milk provides colostrum, which is high in protein, low in sugar and loaded with vitamins, minerals and immunoglobulins (Antibodies) as well as Leukocytes that fight infections, and are only found in breast milk. Therefore, the American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP) strongly recommends exclusive breastfeeding for babies for the first six months and that breastfeeding continues for at least 12 months. Mothers who take this recommendation seriously and exclusively breastfeed should not have to suffer when they return to work. It is not only embarrassing leaky breasts that are at issue; mothers who have elected to exclusively breastfeed their child suffer from feeling that they have deserted their baby.
I remember my own painful experiences as my first child refused to accept anything but breastfeeding. She would not even accept breast milk in a bottle. I recall shopping at the mall and at grocery stores and having to breastfeed standing up in a public restroom. Not once did anyone offer to help me. I do recall the stares like I had done something wrong. I thought, no wonder more women choose not to breastfeed. Providing a comfortable chair in a small private area is all that is needed to change this, yet many work and public places still do not provide this simple convenience. This is a big deterrent to breastfeeding that society can improve if we truly value our children.
It is not surprising that breastfeeding rates differ across the United States, and are as low as 30%
in some groups. It also makes sense that those more educated or having higher socioeconomic status correlates with more breastfeeding. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[CDC] reported that non-Hispanic Blacks have a lower prevalence of breastfeeding than non-Hispanic Whites. With Hispanics, mixed results were found; Hispanics had lower prevalence than non-Hispanic Whites in western states and higher in eastern states. According to the CDC, breastfeeding initiation has increased significantly since 2015 due in part to public health efforts. Now 4 out of 5 women initiate breastfeeding, and over half are still breastfeeding at 6 months.
About 25% of babies are exclusively breastfed at six months.
In order for more women to breastfeed every facet of society needs to support breastfeeding as a
priority. Since more and more women are in the workplace and face challenges to return to work and continue breastfeeding, Healthy People 2020 set a goal to have more employers provide lactation support to workers. With 49% of workplaces now supporting breastfeeding this
Healthy People 2020 goal has been met. However, that still means half of the workplaces do not provide this support so there is still a lot of mothers that have to suffer the way I did. It is not acceptable; not when it is so easy to fix. It is a matter of priority and public awareness.
Currently, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have policies that specifically allow women to breastfeed in public and private locations.
There is a lot that has been accomplished but still more needs to be done. What can you do in your community to help encourage breastfeeding? Our children are depending on us. You don’t need a degree or money to fight for this worthy cause. Just notice public places that don’t provide this support and speak to the person in charge. Let them know that there are laws that require they provide this service and that it really wouldn’t be hard.
In fact, take the example of the provisions at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in
Atlanta. One company has made inroads in showcasing the ease and convenience of making quality provisions for nursing mothers easily available and accessible. Mamava builds and supplies women-driven designs of self-contained, mobile pods with comfortable benches, a fold-down table, an electrical outlet for plugging in a breast pump, and a door that can be locked for privacy. The 4-foot by 8-foot pod is meant for individual use but can fit more than one person, as well as mothers with babies and other children in tow.
There are currently 6 of these pods located at strategic points in the Atlanta airport for a total of
130 at airports across the United States. “We’re thrilled to support breastfeeding mamas in
Atlanta and beyond!” said Sascha Mayer, Co-founder, and CEO of Mamava. “We believe that all mamas deserve a clean, comfortable, and dignified place to use a breast pump or breastfeed distraction-free, anywhere, anytime. Mamava pods provide flexibility for facilities and easy access for moms.”
The company reports that they surpassed one million lactation sessions in 800 pods across the country. This innovative approach to encouraging a healthy breastfeeding culture is adaptable to any public place such as shopping malls. Businesses could even post signs that would
encourage mothers to breastfeed and shop at their facility since they provide this convenience.
Attracting mothers to any shopping mall is a great idea as they have to shop for a family. This makes so much economic sense it should be easy to get businesses to agree to make provisions for nursing moms. You never know how much you can do until you try. If everyone did this in just one public place, do you know how great the impact would be? Please write and let me know if you have helped to make a part of your world, more breastfeeding friendly.
