What’s best for infant health is not everyone’s priority
A new grant will help Minneapolis expand breastfeeding and lactation services, with a focus on improving health outcomes for communities of color. Two clinics are slated to pilot this spring with a goal to expand to five by 2028.
The Racial and Ethical Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will add 35 new providers in hospitals and clinics working in tandem with the Cultural Wellness Center and the Division of Indian Work.
Why are these services important for infant and maternal health? Experts like Claire Fleming Sivongsay, community impact director for the American Heart Association in Minneapolis, highlight breastfeeding’s protective benefits. “You know breastfeeding or lactation, chest feeding, it’s helpful in being protective against hypertension,” said Sivongsay.
“For women, it’s helpful in being protective against type 2 diabetes. For women, it’s also helpful in one of our priority areas of food security.”
Amira Roess, professor of global health at George Mason, found in data from DC’s WIC program (2007-2019) that the non-Hispanic Black demographic had the lowest breastfeeding initiation rate at 73%, with Black immigrants at 69%. Although rates for both groups increased over time, they remained below the national trend of 81%.
“Lactation clinics need to be convenient and accessible to avoid undue burdens on mothers,” Roess said. She also stressed the importance of hiring lactation professionals who speak the language and understand the cultural background of the families they serve.
“Lactation professionals are essential in improving breastfeeding rates,” Roess added. “But we face the challenge of underpaying these professionals, which affects the quality of support they can provide.
“We’ve seen a few things. Number one, lactation professionals, who are well trained, do an excellent job in helping the moms improve their breastfeeding rates. It’s important that they speak the language of the person they are working with, and have a similar background.
“We also have a problem in the U.S. where we don’t value the work, with an inability to pay living wages or competitive wages to a lot of lactation and other health care professionals and public health professionals,” said Roess.
Professor Marion Nestle, a nutrition expert at NYU, added that breastfeeding lowers the risks of infections in children and reduces ovarian and breast cancer rates for mothers. “Breastfeeding is best for infant health and avoids the high costs and potential risks of infant formula,” Nestle said.
However, efforts to promote breastfeeding are often challenged by powerful corporate interests. For instance, Kenyan officials pushed back against the formula industry’s opposition to regulations aimed at increasing breastfeeding, citing that less than half of Africa’s infants were exclusively breastfed and setting a goal to raise the rate to 75%. In 2021, formula companies lobbied U.S. officials to oppose advertising restrictions in Kenya and suggested changes to the proposed law.
These corporate lobbying efforts may impact local breastfeeding practices in Minneapolis’ East African community, where cultural and economic pressures already limit exclusive breastfeeding. International interests promoting formula feeding could further undermine efforts to encourage breastfeeding as a healthier, culturally appropriate choice.
In Minneapolis, federal funding through the R.E.A.C.H. grant is vital to addressing these challenges by offering cultural support and training. The Fatwa issued by the Minnesota Islamic Council two years ago, which supports the use of pasteurized donor milk, provides a culturally acceptable approach to preventing chronic diseases.
“If we just import the Western model to the Muslim world, it will not work. Technology is not working in a vacuum,” said Dr. Mohammed Ghaly, professor of Islam and biomedical ethics at the Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics, in a 2021 interview with Salon.
Clint Combs welcomes reader responses at combs0284@gmail.com.