Learning Objective #1: Describe two social policies enacted in the 1960s that influenced infant feeding practices of African American women

Learning Objective #2: Discuss the impact of changing women's roles over the past 30 years on infant feeding practices of African American women

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Breastfeeding has not been the norm in African American communities for at least 25 years. Both initiation and duration rates are lower than the general US population, prompting the Department of Health and Human Services to focus breastfeeding promotion activities toward African American women. Nationwide in the 1940s-50s women turned away from breastfeeding with initiation rates reaching a low near 30%. For African American women in Durham North Carolina, these low initiation rates did not occur until the 1990s. The pattern of community breastfeeding was different for this African American community than for mainstream America. The purpose of this investigation was to describe the historical changes in infant feeding practices that occurred in an African American community over the past 40 years. Ethnographic methods were used to investigate how this community changed. Grandmothers (n=30) and community leaders (n=10) were interviewed and data from archival materials from a number of sources were gathered. Data were analyzed using ethnographic techniques to determine patterns of influence that contributed to the community change. The changing roles of women felt by most mainstream women during the 1960s and 70s were not issues for the participants, who stated that African American women had always worked outside their homes. They had been both breads winners and heads of households throughout their history. Ways in which social policies (e.g., urban renewal, War on Poverty) and legislation (e.g., civil rights, desegregation) dramatically impacted the infant feeding practices within this community are explored. The findings offer suggestions about why historical influences for African American women in the South were different than those for other women. Understanding this historical context may inform public health providers' actions to promote breastfeeding in African American communities.