Breastfeeding rates in the U.S. are increasing but not to a level that we ought to have, given the overwhelming evidence of the positive effects of breastfeeding for mothers, infants, and the infant-turned-adult. The barriers to women being able to breastfeed their infants at all, as well as for more than a few days or weeks, are substantial and include a societal aversion to breastfeeding in public, lack of private space for women to either feed their infants or pump their breasts during work breaks, the continued promotion of infant formula, and old misconceptions about the infant’s need for variation in nutrition.
Tonight on Healthstyles, producer and moderator Diana J. Mason, RN, PhD, FAAN, talks about breastfeeding with Dr. Diane Spatz, PhD, RN-C, FAAN, Professor of Perinatal Nursing and Helen M. Shearer Term Professor of Nutrition at the University of Pennsylvania, and researcher in lactation at the Children’s Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Spatz discusses recent evidence documenting the healing properties of breast milk, even when an infant cannot ingest it. She also talks about the public and private sector policies that are needed to achieve higher breastfeeding rates.
So tune in tonight at 11:30 PM on WBAI (www.wbai.org; 99.5 FM); or, to listen to the program anytime, click here:
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Healthstyles is sponsored by the Center for Health, Media & Policy at Hunter College, City University of New York.
