In the U.S., strong ethnic/racial, socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic breastfeeding inequities persist, and African American and Hispanic women are less likely to meet their breastfeeding goals compared to White women. This systematic review was designed to answer the question: What is the impact of breastfeeding interventions targeting ethnic/racial minority women in the U.S. on improving BF initiation, duration and exclusivity rates? The systematic review was conducted following the Institute of Medicine Guidelines and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. The review included 60 studies. It found that policy and community level interventions delivered through WIC, healthcare facilities, and community agencies are likely to improve breastfeeding outcomes among women of color. The combination of interventions at different levels of the socioecological model has not been studied among minority women in the U.S. Implementation science research is needed to learn how best to scale up and sustain effective breastfeeding interventions, taking into account the needs and wants of minority women.
Published: March 2021
Journal: International Journal for Equity in Health
Authors: Segura-Pérez S, Hromi-Fiedler A, Adnew M, Nyhan K, Pérez-Escamilla R
Race/Ethnicity: African American or Black, American Indian, Latino(a) or Hispanic, Multi-racial/ethnic
Keywords: Community setting, Infant Feeding, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Focus Area: Early Childhood
Resource Type: Journal Article
Age Group: Pregnant women, infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 2)
Related Research
February 2025
Consumption of the Food Groups with the Revised Benefits in the New WIC Food Package: A Scoping Review
On 18 April 2024, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the first food package changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in over a decade, which reduced some food benefits (juice, milk, canned fish, and infant fruits and vegetables) and offered substitutes (cash-value vouchers (CVVs) or cash-value MoreJanuary 2025
A Systematic Review: The Impact of COVID-19 Policy Flexibilities on SNAP and WIC Programmatic Outcomes
The objective of this study was to explore the impact of policy flexibilities deployed during the COVID-19 public health emergency on access, enrollment/retention, benefit utilization, and perceptions of SNAP and WIC. The review identified 37 eligible articles. Twelve studies evaluated policy flexibilities in SNAP only, 21 in WIC only, and 4 in both programs. Across MoreDecember 2024