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Supporting Breastfeeding in Kentucky Communities: Everyone has a Role · Talking FACS

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Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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food, finance, and fitness.
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This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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and communities to improve quality of life.
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The first days, weeks, and months after a baby comes into this world are monumental
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for putting the child on a path to a healthy life.
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Welcome to Talking FACS, where we share research-based information for you,
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your family, your community, and our state.
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I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support.
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My guest today is Dr. Courtney Luecking, Extension Specialist for Maternal and
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Child Health. Welcome, Courtney.
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Hi, Mindy. Our discussion today is going to focus on breastfeeding and how it
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benefits babies, mothers, and communities across the Commonwealth.
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And we will talk about what community buy-in looks like and ways community members
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can support families in the breastfeeding journey.
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I'm just excited to have this conversation with you.
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I'm excited to be here, too, because breastfeeding may not seem relevant to
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a lot of our listeners because it's a pretty distinct period of time.
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But our communities and our people can benefit when more people chip in to make
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it a little bit easier and more comfortable to breastfeed.
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So let's just start off with why do we recommend breastfeeding and what are
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some of the specific recommendations?
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Yeah, so breastfeeding is the recommended source of nutrition,
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primary source of nutrition for babies during their first year of life.
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So exclusively breastfeeding six months and then adding in food and continuing
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breastfeeding at least one year or as long as mom and baby mutually desire.
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Now, I say that, but I do want to recognize that breastfeeding is not possible
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or of interest to people for a variety of reasons.
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So no shame or blame here, but just want to recognize that it is the optimal
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source of nutrition for our babies.
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I think that's such an important point because I have two children and I could
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not breastfeed my first one, but I didn't give up.
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And so the second one, I was able to breastfeed. So don't let one experience
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cloud your future experiences, right?
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Exactly, exactly. And thinking about why we want to breastfeed our babies,
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you know, maybe some of the reasons that you had in your mind that second time
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around was it is kind of that ideal source of nutrition.
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What's amazing about human milk that during the course of a feeding, it can change.
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So higher in fat at the beginning, lower in fat at the end. It changes over
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the time of day and as the baby ages.
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And with that, then, it can help babies reduce their risk for infections.
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So thinking about ear infections or gut infections.
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And over the long term, it's been linked with lower rates of chronic conditions
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like diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.
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Once again, my experience backs up what you just said, because my first child,
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who I wasn't able to breastfeed, had more ear infections. In fact,
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we had to get tubes when he was about three years old.
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And my second child didn't have that same experience.
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Interesting. No, not to say it's like the only way, but that is interesting that you observed that.
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Obviously, there are lots of benefits to the baby, but what are some benefits
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to moms and to the community at large when families choose breastfeeding?
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I'm so glad you asked, Mindy, because oftentimes we can forget about the person
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who is doing the breastfeeding, and we probably don't think about the community.
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So for the person who's breastfeeding, there are also short and long-term benefits
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for health. It can be protective against breast and ovarian cancer,
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as well as diabetes, heart attacks, and high blood pressure.
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And then when we think about the larger community, if our babies are healthier
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and those who have given birth and breastfeeding,
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if their health is better, then that can lower the health care costs and increase
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the health for communities in general.
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I think that's fabulous. So how are we in Kentucky doing with breastfeeding?
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You know, I have some good news to report. I know that's not always the case,
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but overall, we're seeing trends increasing of people starting breastfeeding.
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So babies who are, there are three and four babies in Kentucky are ever breastfed,
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meaning that it's tried at least ones.
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However, when we start to look at who is exclusively fed human milk or breastfed,
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so only breast milk, no formula, we get down to 24% during that first six months.
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And then if we look at people who are breastfed any amount by 12 months,
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we're down to one third of our kiddos. So a lot,
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But when we look at our state at large, like when we look at individual communities,
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that's where we actually see some really big differences.
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So while it's promising that three in four babies are breastfed ever,
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when we look at community specific, that can be as low as one in three babies
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is ever breastfed, all the way up to eight out of ten babies being breastfed.
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So each community actually has different rates of starting that breastfeeding journey.
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So I know that it's not always easy to breastfeed. So what gets in the way?
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What keeps moms from breastfeeding?
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Such a good question, Mindy. And I think you acknowledge, like,
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you had two very different experiences with your children.
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And I will say I had the same.
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One thing to note is that many families, more than half, stop their breastfeeding
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journey before they planned.
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And so there's a lot of reasons. And usually breastfeeding begins in the hospital
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and things may or may not be going well at that point.
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There may or may not be people who have that expertise to help the breastfeeding
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person and the baby get going.
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I know that was a really important resource for me because we were on the struggle bus to begin with.
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And then there might be policies, depending on where someone gives birth,
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policies that help keep the baby in the room with the mom so that it's easy access to breastfeed.
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But if we think about our knowledge, so what is someone's kind of decision coming
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into giving birth about how they're going to feed their baby on the back end?
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That can play a big difference. And if there was any support,
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so are there people who were able to teach the birthing person about breastfeeding before?
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And are there people to support them on the back end? And maybe the social norms,
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like I said, our communities have different rates of breastfeeding.
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So some communities, there just might not be the social norm to breastfeed.
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It's just what we do is we feed formula.
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And we didn't even think about the opportunity for breastfeeding.
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Culturally, there are differences about breastfeeding.
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Sometimes people feel embarrassed, particularly if you're feeding straight from
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the breast out in public. That can be unnerving.
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Problems, I think there's no shortage of problems. We have this idea that breastfeeding
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is quote unquote natural, and so we should just know how to do it.
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And I just want to dispel that myth that's not true at all.
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And then thinking about when the person who gives birth goes,
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if they go back to work, what does that look like?
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Do they have the supports in place to try to express milk and or pump and get it to baby?
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Is child care supportive of human milk and doing what needs to be done to keep
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it safe and feed it to baby and just all in all health services to support it?
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So my point here is that there are a lot of reasons breastfeeding could stop early.
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So tell us about this idea of continuity of care. What does that really mean
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and how can we make it happen?
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Yeah, so Continuity and Care, it's a consistent, collaborative,
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and seamless delivery of high-quality services.
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That really sounds fancy, but it essentially means
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that it's a community's role to begin that breastfeeding support during pregnancy
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and continue until families end breastfeeding and ensuring that there's coordinated
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transitions and handoffs to fully support families along the way.
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And so this means, like, it truly does take a village, not to be corny.
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I know we hear that a lot. But we need all people and players.
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So family, close friends, the health care providers, advocates,
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community spaces, state and local agencies.
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It shows in order to have that seamless transition from start to whenever the
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decision to finish is, that we can collectively support people along the way.
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And that is such an important factor.
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Because if you, for example, can't find a place to breastfeed if you're uncomfortable
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doing it in public, or if you just don't have the support at work to take the
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time that is needed to go pump,
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if we have that continuity of care mindset in the whole community,
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then that really is going to enhance the opportunities for breastfeeding.
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So what are some ways individuals and communities can support families in their
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breastfeeding journey?
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We can be thoughtful and intentional about cultivating community environments
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that proactively promote, protect, and support breastfeeding.
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So thinking about the spaces in which families with young children are living,
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working, playing, worshiping, even shopping or traveling or receiving services.
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And some actions can be small, so they might feel manageable for an individual
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person. And some might need more collective input to achieve like a policy change,
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for example, in an organization or a local level.
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So one example would be to think about a welcoming environment.
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And these are spaces that invite breastfeeding at any time, anywhere.
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So breastfeeding is protected by law in Kentucky, but having an invitation or
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feel of support can be really important.
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And one example I'd like to give, it wasn't in Kentucky, but I was visiting
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and I was actually in a museum and I just sat down in a spot like baby got hungry.
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So I just sat down and started feeding her.
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I had a cover. I felt really comfortable doing that. But one of the employees
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came over and said, excuse me, would you like a private quiet space for this?
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We have one. I'd be happy to show you.
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And I was like, oh, my gosh, yes, that would be great because I was sitting
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on a random bench where like kids were running around.
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And so she just took me to this quiet place and it was so relaxing and it had
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pillows and a couch like it was just comfy.
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And so that's one example of, you know, that invitation or even something as
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small as a smile or a nod, making sure there's a private space that's not a bathroom.
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Exactly. I always tell people, I'm like, do you want to go eat your lunch in the bathroom?
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Then why would you want an adult to feed a baby in a bathroom?
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And so trying to find a private space, it doesn't have to be a designated space.
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I recognize there's limitations.
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With the way the buildings and things of that nature. But even if it's just
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a little corner or someone offering up their office, I've had people do that
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and I didn't have to go to my car.
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So like how nice, right, to not have to go out and get hooked up in a car rather,
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just the comfort of someone else.
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Well, and I would say that you might need to change your mindset if you are
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a community member, because just because your family didn't choose to breastfeed
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doesn't mean it's not right for the next generation.
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So try not to put your biases into your conversations when you talk about breastfeeding.
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That's a really interesting point, Mindy. And so sometimes it may feel small,
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but gathering information, like learning more, things are constantly changing.
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I know my mom always like, it's different with you raising your kids than when I grew up.
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And so taking a chance, like listening to this podcast and just learning about
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kind of why breastfeeding is important and the large and small ways that we can support families.
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I love that. Courtney, before we wrap up, any last thoughts?
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Oh, my gosh. Yes. So thinking about awareness and connection to resources.
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Again, breastfeeding is not going to just happen.
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And so there will probably be challenges. So even if you can familiarize yourself
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with local resources, or if they're not available, regional or state level resources,
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so that way people can get support when they need it.
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If you are out in the community, being a helping hand or a smiling face,
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we can really work to change those cultural norms.
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And another example I'd like to share is I was sitting on an airplane one time
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and I was traveling alone with my infant and we were stuck on the tarmac for
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a really long time and it was really hot.
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And like I was nursing, I was sweating and the flight attendant brought me this huge bottle of water.
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And that was all she did. Like, she didn't say anything. She just said, here you go, mom.
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And like, so it helped me stay hydrated, which is super important.
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And so it doesn't always have to be the physical act of like supporting breastfeeding,
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right? We're not asking people to do that.
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But how can you support the breastfeeding person, keeping them hydrated?
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If their family or friends, can you drop off snacks?
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It's exhausting to feed a baby, whether you're breastfeeding or not,
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but particularly just the energy and hydration that's required.
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And so can you do chores? Can you be a listening ear?
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Can you just find small ways to give that breastfeeding parent a break or the
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time and energy that they need to focus on feeding babies?
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So it can be a smile all the way up to ensuring, you know, your place of business
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has a welcoming space and anywhere in between.
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And I think that's something that so often we forget about. But that limited
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resource of time, it does take time to feed a baby.
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And it's not just once a day, you do it repeatedly.
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And so that does cut into your, your limited resource of time. So providing an
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out or, you know, giving the breastfeeding person an opportunity to not worry
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about time so much is really a gift.
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It absolutely is. I'll just note that I had to track my breastfeeding at one
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point and once I hit 40 hours, this was in the newborn phase,
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once I hit 40 hours, I stopped tracking.
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I was like, okay, this is legit more than a full-time job.
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Exactly. It is. But so important. It's so worth it. Exactly, exactly.
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Courtney, thank you so much for your time today. This conversation has been
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so enlightening, and I hope that our listeners will use it to make their community
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spaces more welcoming to those families who have chosen to breastfeed. Thank you, Mindy.
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