Fewer black babies are ever breastfed compared to white and Hispanic infants according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MPB's Jasmine Ellis spoke to black mothers in Mississippi about breastfeeding.
Some black mothers in Mississippi say the lack of support they received surrounding breastfeeding is discouraging. Oreda Davis of Jackson says originally she wanted to breastfeed her daughter, but her family was not supportive.
"It kind of made me feel as though maybe breastfeeding wasn't the way to go despite what I had read and researched," said Davis. "It just made me think maybe it was easier to just do the formula. It just made me feel like I was making the wrong decision."
Only 63 percent of babies in Mississippi are ever breastfed according to the CDC's Breastfeeding Report Card.
"I really didn't have too many people in my family who did it for a prolonged period of time," said Simeon Seaton of Jackson.
She says her family was supportive of her breastfeeding in the beginning but over time things changed. Seaton says she wanted make a different decision than the women around her by choosing to breastfeed her child.
"I wanted to be different," said Seaton. "I want to set myself apart from the other mothers that are in my family and just provide the most health benefits for my child."
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusively breastfeeding for a child's first six months.
