Eliminating Breastfeeding Inequality in Celebration of World Breastfeeding Week

It's a great time to celebrate the life-sustaining power of breastfeeding, as World Breastfeeding Week is taking place this August 1-7. Breastfeeding provides a balanced food source loaded with essential vitamins and antibodies that encourage baby's healthy growth. The World Health Organization also links the practice with a closer bond between mother and baby and contributions to psychomotor and social development [1].

This year's event focuses on breastfeeding as an important step in achieving sustainability, noting that the use of artificial feeding products is not as environmentally sound. In contrast, breast milk is considered a green food source, as it is made internally and thus does not create waste or manufacturing byproducts.

In partnership with the United Nations, the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action emphasizes the need to eliminate obstacles to sustainability in our communities, many of which also double as obstacles to breastfeeding. For a mother to truly be able to choose between breast and bottle feeding, both options must be equally feasible, but breastfeeding isn't always an option for new mothers.

Income level, education, and lifestyle disparities can all act as obstacles to successful breastfeeding. This is referred to as breastfeeding inequality, and the statistics can be a bit shocking.

93% of mothers from high-income California breastfeed their babies; in contrast, only 56% of moms from poverty-stricken Louisiana breastfeed
At baby's six month mark, 68% of high-income moms are still breastfeeding compared to 38% of moms under the poverty line
Breastfeeding is harder for single mothers, with 60% of married moms continuing to breastfeed at six months compared to 29% of single moms

Shifting the conversation around breastfeeding from one that demonizes mothers for choosing the bottle to one that embraces the importance of breastfeeding accessibility is essential. Systematic socioeconomic disparities are directly linked to breastfeeding inequality, as this visualization demonstrates.

Through access to paid maternity leave, positive employer attitudes toward breastfeeding, support from medical professions and community education, breastfeeding can be made an accessible option to all mothers.