Cultural Aspects of Extended Breastfeeding: study presentation

[KimMamaLove]

Hi everyone. I wanted to share with you a new study about breastfeeding. I only have an abstract of it at the moment (see below). I'm hoping to get more information to share after I've seen the presentation that will be give at my Holistic Moms Network chapter's next meeting:

"Cultural Aspects of Extended Breastfeeding" with Kathleen Skoczen, MA, PhD

April 26, 2011 from 7-9pm

United Church of Chester, 29 W Main St., Chester, CT

Free & open to public. RSVPs appreciated at [e-mail].

It's my sincere hope I can attend this presentation ... my baby is due April 25th! Please, baby, come at least a week early or two days late :-)

Thanks for reading. I also posted this in the Lactivism section as well.

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Cultural Aspects of Breastfeeding and the Middlesex Hospital Baby Feeding Study:

The Middlesex Hospital Baby Feeding study began in 2007.  The study examines the factors that support a new mother’s ability to sustain breastfeeding to at least six months.  Recognition that breastfeeding can significantly increase infant health and survival has placed new emphasis on government initiatives to promote extended breastfeeding practices for all women (Healthy People 2010). Preliminary findings from the survey concur with findings of other studies that suggest income and education play an important role in a mother’s decision to breastfeed.  This study, nonetheless, offers some interesting findings regarding the role of the family in breastfeeding patterns.  When compared against data from around the world, we find that education and income may not be the most important indicators of breastfeeding success, but rather family support may play a key role.  This presentation will provide information on how and why breastfeeding is the best choice of nutrition for new babies, provide some data from anthropology that supports this claim, review the status of breastfeeding the U.S. relative to other areas of the world, and finally discuss what can be done to better support breast-feeding and bottle-feeding mothers in our communities.

Kathleen N. Skoczen, MA, PhD  earned her doctorate in Cultural Anthropology with a certificate in Women’s Studies at Syracuse University.  Currently she is professor and chair of Anthropology at Southern CT State University in New Haven, Connecticut.   Her research has focused on women’s health in the developing world.  Recently she has worked with a team of researchers to examine the factors that can support a new mother’s ability to meet World Health Organization goals of breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of life.  She has examined breastfeeding practices in England, France, the Dominican Republic and Chile, as well as working on a multi-year study in Middletown, Ct.