Solutions for Increasing Wisconsin's Low Breastfeeding Rates

Teresa Johnson (right) addresses a class in the UWM School of Nursing.

MILWAUKEE --Southeast Wisconsin has lower breastfeeding rates than many other parts of the country. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics is a staunch advocate for breastfeeding, many women elect not to breastfeed their infants. Currently, a national health objective, called Healthy People 2010, calls for finding ways to drastically increase these percentages.

"About 60 percent of Southeast Wisconsin women breastfeed at the time of hospital discharge and 21 percent of mothers nurse at 6 months," says Teresa Johnson, Assistant Professor, UWM School of Nursing. An estimated 95 percent of are medically able to breastfeed, she adds.

Johnson is an expert in maternal-child issues and last week was a guest on WUWM's "At Ten" show. She has spent several years researching a variety of issues surrounding breastfeeding. Her current research - on southeast Wisconsin mothers ages 16 to 37 years old - examines the impact of home visits on the duration of breastfeeding.

"Several factors contribute to a mother's decision not to begin breastfeeding or to end it prematurely," she says. "It's not a simple problem with a simple solution."

The solution, she says, is a holistic one including the following components:

Increasing corporate support in Southeast Wisconsin. Research has demonstrated that companies that provide lactation support programs - time to breastfeed or pump - reap economic benefits. The babies of their employees have fewer illnesses, and mom and dad miss less work. Yet few local companies support breastfeeding.
Cultural support. When relatives or friends support a mother's decision to breastfeed, mothers are far less likely to quit prematurely.
Minimizing medical interventions that reduce the likelihood of breastfeeding. Two common medical interventions interfere with breastfeeding: induced labor and labor epidural anesthesia.
Reducing stumbling blocks at home. Home visits with breastfeeding mothers have unearthed specific stumbling blocks to success that occur in the home.
Increasing hospital-based support.
Providing new mothers with information about normal infant behavior
Body comfort. A mother's discomfort with her own body often is a primary personal reason for not breastfeeding.

For more information on Teresa Johnson's research, contact her at (414) 229-6231 or mailto:tsj@uwm.edu.

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