Rebecca Duncan1, Jabina Coleman1, Sharon Herring2, Meg Kawan3, Christy Santoro2, Meghana Atre4, Aleigha Mason5, Shawana Moore6, Aparna Kumar6. 1. Breastfeeding Awareness and Empowerment (BAE), Philadelphia, PA 19132, USA. 2. Obstetrics and Reproductive Sciences, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA. 3. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Karabots Center, Philadelphia, PA 19139, USA. 4. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. 5. School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. 6. College of Nursing, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
Abstract
1 Background: Critical gaps in the U.S. healthcare system perpetuate adverse reproductive health outcomes for Black people. Grounded in reproductive justice and trauma-informed care, Breastfeeding Awareness and Empowerment (BAE) has developed a program titled BAE Cafe to directly address these gaps by providing community-based lactation and perinatal mental health support. A literature review identified key programmatic gaps, namely, access to knowledge relevant to troubleshooting breastfeeding, peer support, community support and healthcare system support, and system-level factors that impede families and communities from accessing lactation support. 2 Methods: This paper describes BAE Cafe through a group process observation and participant survey. 3 Results: The observation of groups highlighted the core elements of the BAE Cafe model: knowledge, support and mental health support in a peer driven format. Participant survey feedback was overwhelmingly positive and highlighted the critical importance of lactation support for Black women by Black women and BAE's role in participants' decisions to continue breastfeeding. 4 Conclusions: BAE Cafe is a replicable, scalable, peer-driven and low-barrier intervention that has the potential to improve outcomes for Black families. Additional research and investment are now needed to assess large-scale implementation to reduce disparities and address health inequity across different contexts and settings.
1 Background: Critical gaps in the U.S. healthcare system perpetuate adverse reproductive health outcomes for Black people. Grounded in reproductive justice and trauma-informed care, Breastfeeding Awareness and Empowerment (BAE) has developed a program titled BAE Cafe to directly address these gaps by providing community-based lactation and perinatal mental health support. A literature review identified key programmatic gaps, namely, access to knowledge relevant to troubleshooting breastfeeding, peer support, community support and healthcare system support, and system-level factors that impede families and communities from accessing lactation support. 2 Methods: This paper describes BAE Cafe through a group process observation and participant survey. 3 Results: The observation of groups highlighted the core elements of the BAE Cafe model: knowledge, support and mental health support in a peer driven format. Participant survey feedback was overwhelmingly positive and highlighted the critical importance of lactation support for Black women by Black women and BAE's role in participants' decisions to continue breastfeeding. 4 Conclusions: BAE Cafe is a replicable, scalable, peer-driven and low-barrier intervention that has the potential to improve outcomes for Black families. Additional research and investment are now needed to assess large-scale implementation to reduce disparities and address health inequity across different contexts and settings.
Entities:
Keywords:
black maternal health; breastfeeding; community-based; disparities; health equity; lactation; perinatal mental health; reproductive justice; strength-based; trauma-informed care
Authors: Linda C Pugh; Janet R Serwint; Kevin D Frick; Joy P Nanda; Phyllis W Sharps; Diane L Spatz; Renee A Milligan Journal: Acad Pediatr Date: 2009-10-23 Impact factor: 3.107