Many Black Women College Students Are Hesitant About Breastfeeding Their Future Children

Jefferson-UrmekaPrevious studies have documented that African American mothers are less likely to breastfeed their infants than other mothers in the United States. A new study led by Urmeka T. Jefferson, an assistant professor at the Sinclair School of Nursing at the University of Missouri, sheds new light on the low tendency of African American mothers to breastfeed.

Dr. Jefferson surveyed African American women college students on their attitudes toward breastfeeding and whether they intended to breastfeed their infants if and when they had children. The results showed that the African American college students were well-informed about the benefits of breastfeeding but a large percentage still indicated that they were hesitant about breastfeeding any children they had in the future. Dr. Jefferson found that many of the Black women believed there was a lack of public acceptance of breastfeeding. A large majority of the respondents said they would not be comfortable about breastfeeding in public and many of the respondents voiced the opinion that formula feeding was a better choice for mothers who worked outside the home.

“We need to start early with our breastfeeding education and exposure because women decide before they have children whether or not they will breastfeed,” Dr. Jefferson says. “We need to figure out how to encourage positive breastfeeding attitudes among young Black women and make them aware that breastfeeding is the normal, natural infant-feeding method.”

Dr. Jefferson also believes that “encouraging public acceptance of breastfeeding is important. Our American culture tends to add a sexual connotation to breastfeeding that is false, and we have to do more to change social perceptions so that women feel more comfortable breastfeeding in public.”

Dr. Jefferson is a graduate of the University of Memphis. She earned a master’s degree at Union University in Germantown, Tennessee and a Ph.D. at Saint Louis University. She joined the faculty at the University of Missouri in 2012.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

California State University Sacramento Launches Black Honors College

Officially launching for the fall 2024 semester, the Black Honors College will support students from all backgrounds who study Black history, life, and culture by providing them with a specialized curriculum and mentoring opportunities.

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

In Memoriam: Norman B. Anderson, 1955-2024

Dr. Anderson was the assistant vice president for research and academic affairs at Florida State University at the time of his death. He had an extensive career in clinical psychology, which led him to become the first African American chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association.

Georgia State University Launches Program to Support Black Women in Tech

While Black women account for roughly 29 percent of the Georgia State University undergradaute student body, they represent only 10 percent of the university's computer science majors and 18 percent of the computer information systems majors.

Featured Jobs