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Breastfeeding Ambivalence Among Low-Income African American and Puerto Rican Women in North and Central Brooklyn

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Abstract

This study explores low-income African American and Puerto Rican women’s conceptions and practices around breastfeeding. It examines the impact of such diverse factors as social constructions of the body, local mores around infant care, the practicalities of food availability, in the context of interactions with family members and friends, institutions, and others in women’s neighborhoods. The study employed ethnographic methods, including interviews and participant observation, with 28 families in two low-income Brooklyn neighborhoods. While women in this study felt that breastfeeding was the best way to feed their infants, their commitment turned to ambivalence in the face of their perceptions about the dangers of breast milk, the virtues of formula, and the practical and sociocultural challenges of breastfeeding. Women’s ambivalence resulted in a widespread complementary feeding pattern that included breast milk and formula, and resulted in short breastfeeding durations. Findings suggest the critical role of breastfeeding “ambivalence” in driving thought and action in women’s lives. Ambivalence erodes the permanence of breastfeeding intention, and makes feeding practices provisional. Ambivalence challenges breastfeeding promotion strategies, resulting in weakened public health messages and a difficult-to-realize public health goal.

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Acknowledgments

We extend our deep gratitude to the residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick who participated in the study. We are also grateful to our colleagues from the Health Department, Healthy Start Brooklyn, and other organizations for their assistance on the project, including Tracy Agerton, Mary Bassett, Lorraine Boyd, Kelly Cantor, Florence Chery-Antoine, Carla Clark, Debbie Deitcher, Cindy Gordon, Debbie Kaplan, Christina Larkin, Candace Mulready-Ward, Judy Sackoff, Ari Shapiro, and Yvonne Sinclair.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 485 Throop Avenue, Room 2454, Brooklyn, NY, 11221, USA

    Leslie Kaufman

  2. Ross University School of Medicine, P.O. Box 266, Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies

    Swarna Deenadayalan

  3. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 93 Worth Street, Room 410, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Adam Karpati

Authors
  1. Leslie Kaufman
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  2. Swarna Deenadayalan
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  3. Adam Karpati
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leslie Kaufman.

Additional information

Swarna Deenadayalan was employed at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene at the time the article was written.

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Kaufman, L., Deenadayalan, S. & Karpati, A. Breastfeeding Ambivalence Among Low-Income African American and Puerto Rican Women in North and Central Brooklyn. Matern Child Health J 14, 696–704 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-009-0499-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-009-0499-5

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