Breastfeeding is considered by many, such as the WHO, to be the best way to feed infants, particularly in impoverished situations. Indeed, according to the WHO, breastfeeding provides “all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life,” and these benefits continue outside this time into the second year of breastfeeding and beyond. There are many health benefits to breastfeeding for mothers and their children that can be lifelong, such as reduced risk of diabetes for both, lower risk of asthma, obesity and sudden infant death syndrome, and protection against other short- and long-term illnesses and diseases. I write from the assumption that readers know the many benefits of breastfeeding and that we are all here to support it as an ideal infant feeding method. Yet, breastfeeding rates drop off quickly in the first few months after birth in the Global North, particularly for low-income mothers.
Low-income rural mothers often face additional constraints to their breastfeeding, such as a lack of access to supportive resources and the need to access transportation to do so. For example, Newfoundland and Labrador has low breastfeeding rates despite most women in one study intending to breastfeed. However, there is very little literature about infant feeding in rural areas of the Global North, so we can only speculate on the challenges rural low-income mothers face.
As I established in my previous blog, the diet recommended to feed a breastfeeding mother and her infant is unaffordable for many low-income mothers accessing welfare or maternity leave based on a minimum-wage job. Additionally, infant food insecurity researcher Dr. Lesley Frank has found that mothers perceive that they have inadequate milk supply for their babies because of their own food insecurity. This perception, in turn, causes a reduction or cessation of breastfeeding.
Another reality is that not all women can or will choose to breastfeed, and these women and their babies still deserve, indeed, have the right to food security. The lack of affordability and often availability of infant formula is a significant barrier to infant food security for these families. Very few food banks have consistent supplies of formula for low-income women.
One study found that for remote First Nations women in Canada, prenatal education and postpartum support increased breastfeeding rates. Other studies point to the need for “more effective interventions” to support breastfeeding in women of the Global North, such as increased income and employment support to help alleviate food insecurity in the first place. There is a place for targeted prenatal and postpartum support, including lactation education and assistance. However, the root of the issue of women stopping breastfeeding because of food insecurity and poverty dynamics must also be addressed at a policy level that deals with income and employment.
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