NYC Targets Black Women for Breastfeeding
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The breastfeeding coordinator at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx likes to tell people this story.
An African American teen mother had a baby and said she wanted to breastfeed her child. But the father of her baby did not support nursing.
Coordinator Ilana Taubman showed the father a video produced by Women, Infant, and Children, which encourages black fathers to support breastfeeding.
The young man reacted in awe and asked: "Why didn't we learn about this in school? Why didn't anybody teach us of the importance of breastfeeding?"
While nationally, 74 percent of new mothers breastfeed at some point, at Lincoln Hospital that figure is more than 90 percent. Almost all of the mothers delivering babies here are black or Latina and work blue-collar jobs.
"Breastfeeding is not natural anymore to most people," said Dr. Ray Mercado, chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Lincoln Hospital. "We have to reverse that trend."
Read more about New York's plan to obtain an official "Baby Friendly" designation at Women's eNews http://womensenews.org/story/reproductive-health/100330/nyc-targets-black-women-...
An African American teen mother had a baby and said she wanted to breastfeed her child. But the father of her baby did not support nursing.
Coordinator Ilana Taubman showed the father a video produced by Women, Infant, and Children, which encourages black fathers to support breastfeeding.
The young man reacted in awe and asked: "Why didn't we learn about this in school? Why didn't anybody teach us of the importance of breastfeeding?"
While nationally, 74 percent of new mothers breastfeed at some point, at Lincoln Hospital that figure is more than 90 percent. Almost all of the mothers delivering babies here are black or Latina and work blue-collar jobs.
"Breastfeeding is not natural anymore to most people," said Dr. Ray Mercado, chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Lincoln Hospital. "We have to reverse that trend."
Read more about New York's plan to obtain an official "Baby Friendly" designation at Women's eNews http://womensenews.org/story/reproductive-health/100330/nyc-targets-black-women-...
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