There is a shortage of articles that give us valuable insight into what is going on with breastfeeding in the black community. Sometimes we just do not have many people who have the desire to share. There is a lack of breastfeeding in general in the community with few resources, time and money to advertise. I would love to see a huge increase in black breastfeeding and I would like to help be a part of that change.
If people knew the importance of breastfeeding and how if benefits mom and baby, we would probably have more breastfeeders. Many years ago, breastfeeding was the norm and we did not have the issue of trying to find out more about it. In society then, more women were breastfeeding and we had much longer rates of duration. The introduction of formula put breastfeeding on the back burner. Furthermore, the advertisement of it has made it even more of a “hidden issue.” Maybe we will have advocates who do not mind talking more about breastfeeding and this will help us make a change in the breastfeeding arena.
There are not a lot of places and spaces that have been made for breastfeeding. I cannot recall how many times I have seen an advertisement for breastfeeding in my community or any other community as well. This is tragic because we need to remind people of how important it is for us to make it the social norm. Breastfeeding should be the first choice of feeding and we have to find ways to help make it work and to remind those who don’t know of the importance of it!
A combination of sharing and supporting would possibly help us increase breastfeeding rates. It does not have to be only those who are in social media; we can take the inspiring testimonials of those who have breastfed. Doctors and nurses should also participate in supporting the breastfeeding process. I would love to do more myself, to help spread the word on how good breastfeeding is. Breastfeeding is and always will be the optimal form of feeding for our babies in the world today!
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