What Does Infant Feeding Mean to African American Women and Their Support Persons

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Title: What Does Infant Feeding Mean to African American Women and Their Support Persons

Promenade Ballroom (Long Beach Convention Center)
Ifeyinwa V. Asiodu, PhD, RN, IBCLC , Women, Children and Family Health Science, University of Illinois, Chicago, Chicago, IL

Discipline: Childbearing (CB), Newborn Care (N), Women’s Health (WH)

Learning Objectives:
  • To understand and describe the infant feeding perceptions and experiences of African American mothers and their social support persons.
  • To describe and analyze the process African American women undergo when deciding on an infant feeding method.
  • To describe the barriers and facilitators encountered during this decision making process as it unfolds over time from antepartum through birth and the early postpartum period.

    • Submission Description:
    While overall breastfeeding initiation and continuation rates in the United States have increased, disparities in breastfeeding rates between African American women and White women remain. African American infants have the highest rates of infant mortality, premature birth, low birth weight and very low birth weight and can benefit greatly from an increase in breastfeeding. Understanding the infant feeding decision making process in the African American Community is vital to improving this infant feeding disparity.

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    The Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.