Black Women Breastfeeding

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by FOX News Rising
by Terrance Bates
Bio | Email by Marvin Beach
Bio | Email | Follow: @MBeach14

Story Created: Feb 1, 2013 at 11:33 AM EDT

Story Updated: Feb 1, 2013 at 11:33 AM EDT

Charlotte, NC -The breast is mother nature's food source. But there's a perception that black women don't breastfeed.  Women's Health Educator, Lugenia Grider says, "It is not a myth, it is not perception, there are numbers that show African American women breastfeed less than their counterparts and its about 54 percent less."
   According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black women breastfeed at least 15 percent less than other women.  54 percent of black women start breastfeeding at birth, compared to 80 percent of Asians and Hispanics.  74 percent of  white women initiate breast feeding at birth.  Those numbers drop drastically for all ethnic groups at six months and one year.
   But why is there such a big gap?  The experts say there's no easy answer.  They look to history as a start though.  Lactation specialist Laura Corsig says, "African American women were wet nurses for white children, that was seen as a difficult time."
   For that reason, she believes many generations have rejected the the practice.  Formula and working outside the home are also major factors.  
 

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