Racial Disparities Exist in Breastfeeding: An Analysis of Black and Hispanic Mothers Breastfeeding Practices

I undertook the honors senior project of completing a chapter for the Nutrition Life Cycle course (Nutrition 251) offered here at UNL. The significance of my chapter was the acknowledgment of the great impact that race/ethnicity has on the development of individuals throughout the life cycle. It was noted upon initial research that a disparity exists in the breastfeeding rates amongst Hispanic and Black mothers. The purpose of my contribution to the Nutrition 251 book was to explain the overall factors impacting breastfeeding as well as explaining why a breastfeeding disparity exists amongst Hispanic and Black mothers. Specifically, I analyzed the educational, income, healthcare barriers, and cultural factors impacting breastfeeding amongst both minority groups. Overall, I used a variety of peer-reviewed articles, including but not limited to systematic reviews, focus group interviews, as well as data from the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention(CDC) and Healthy People 2020