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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

women, breast-feeding, breast milk, nutrition

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

Abstract

Breast-feeding is the healthiest way for a mother to ensure that her newborn child gets the best nutrition possible; in addition, breast milk provides maternal antibodies to the child that are highly effective in preventing disease (2). Hence the slogan “Breast is Best” was created to encourage mothers to breastfeed their children; unfortunately, there are still a larger number of women who have resisted this message and continue to choose other methods of feeding. For instance, white women are two times more likely to breast-feed than their black counterparts, and college educated women are three times more likely to breast-feed than women who have not graduated from high school (1). Given the health benefits, why did the “Breast is Best” slogan seem to reach a certain part of the population and miss others? Because breast-milk has been documented as the best thing for a mother to give her child, it is essential to understand the factors underlying the decision to breast-feed.

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