The document specifically promoted the WIC program for its breastfeeding support to low-income families through employment of International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants, peer counselors and offering an enhanced food package for nursing mothers.
Five years later in January 2016, the medical journal The Lancet made waves as it reported that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life would save the lives of 800,000 children every year. The economic impact is also staggering, with a savings of $30 billion annually.
What does this mean for families living in the United States?
According to the CDC, health disparities are defined as “preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations. Populations can be defined by factors such as race or ethnicity, gender, education or income, disability, geographic location (e.g., rural or urban), or sexual orientation.”
Breastfeeding helps to close the gap for children affected by racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes. According to Jennifer Arice White, MSPH, “Breastfeeding is a key strategy in the elimination of disparities such as infant mortality, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and childhood obesity.” Low-income communities continue to have higher rates of obesity, diabetes, breast cancer, premature birth and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Breastfeeding helps to reduce the rates of obesity and diabetes, particularly in women who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Breast cancer risk is reduced especially if a woman breastfeeds for longer than 1 year. The American Academy of Pediatrics promotes breastfeeding as a measure to decrease the risk of an infant succumbing to SIDS. And while breastfeeding cannot prevent premature birth, it can lower the risk of those fragile infants contracting and dying from the painful and costly bowel disease Necrotizing Enterocolitis. The physical, emotional, and economic impact of these diseases alone are worth the time and effort needed to improve breastfeeding rates across the country.
How does WIC make a positive impact in these outcomes?
Breastfeeding builds a foundation for good health for infants and their mothers, and this especially true for those born in populations most affected by health disparities.
The WIC program targets these populations specifically, with clinics designed to be easily accessible to low-income residents in urban and rural areas. WIC promotes practices that support well-being in new mothers and young families: healthy diet, weight management and breastfeeding. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports, “Extensive research has found WIC to be a cost-effective investment that improves the nutrition and health of low-income families — leading to healthier infants, more nutritious diets and better health care for children.” Most recent research has found that WIC participants have been steadily increasing their breastfeeding rates, thereby strengthening the national average- as well as their own family’s health.