RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT
New Jersey Breastfeeding Landscape Study
Seeking solutions within the Black community
“Black mamas are the least likely to reach their breastfeeding goals not because we don’t want to breastfeed, but because we receive the least support. Lack of access to this incredible first food has a lasting impact on Black infant and maternal health. Black families deserve better than this. With the support of the Burke Foundation, we aim to change the narrative as it pertains to breastfeeding and human lactation for Black mamas in New Jersey.”
– Dr. Nastassia Davis, Executive Director, Perinatal Health Equity Initiative and Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Montclair State University
Project Summary
The benefits of breastfeeding (and chestfeeding) for mothers and babies are ample and well established. Numerous studies show that babies who receive human milk have reduced risks for such conditions as asthma, allergies, childhood obesity, ear and gastrointestinal infections, respiratory illnesses, sudden infant death syndrome, and infant mortality. Likewise, lactating individuals have decreased risk of developing postpartum bleeding, anemia, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, certain types of breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. Beyond physical health benefits, breastfeeding helps reduces stress, lowers risk of postpartum depression, helps mitigate the effects of toxic stress, and strengthens bonding and attachment between mother and baby to help cultivate a nurturing “first relationship.”
Despite these benefits, breastfeeding initiation and continuation rates among Black women are relatively low. For example exclusive breastfeeding rates in New Jersey in 2019 were 41.9% for white women and 24.4% for Black women. These trends reflect the overarching health disparities plaguing communities across New Jersey, including that Black infant are is 3.8 times more likely than white infants to die before their first birthday and that Black women are 2.3 times more likely than white women to die with diabetes as the underlying cause.
The Burke Foundation is committed to identifying solutions to advance breastfeeding as a means to combat these alarming health disparities. And, in this effort, we want community voices placed front and center. This project affords the chance to hear from women across the African diaspora, their family members (e.g., fathers, partners, grandparents), lactation professionals, and other healthcare providers to inform our grantmaking. Through surveys, focus groups, and interviews we will compile feedback and gain insights on factors that hinder or empower birthing individuals to meet their breastfeeding goals. Women living in areas with poor perinatal outcomes from all 21 counties and reflecting diverse economic backgrounds will be represented.
This qualitative study is being led by Dr. Nastassia Davis, DNP, MSN, RN, IBCLC, with support from Jill Wodnick, a doula and childbirth educator and Assistant Director for Maternal-Infant Relational Health at the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health at Montclair State University. Dr. Davis is an assistant professor of nursing at Montclair State as well as founder and Executive Director of the Perinatal Health Equity Initiative, a grassroots organization striving to eliminate health care disparities in Black infant and maternal health through advocacy, education, community engagement, research, collaboration, and direct clinical support.
Goals of the research project:
- Acquire a deep understanding of the dynamics of breastfeeding – the needs, preferences, behaviors, barriers experienced, and successes – among Black birthing individuals in New Jersey.
- Catalogue best practices that help women meet their breastfeeding goals and advance health equity.
- Generate a “funding road map” of patient-centered, culturally congruent breastfeeding strategies.
After the project ends, the Burke Foundation will use the results to prioritize investment opportunities to support equitable breastfeeding practices among Black communities in New Jersey.