How History and Racism Reframe the Formula Shortage for Black Families

While we should be able to choose how we feed our children, a history of racism shapes that choice. This article from "The Bump" addresses how formula shortages disproportionately affect Black birthing people because of a long history in which they have been both prohibited and discouraged from breastfeeding.

According to the CDC, only around 74% of Black women initiate breastfeeding. This contrasts with roughly eighty-four percent of women breastfeeding overall. And that gap widens over time.

Lower rates of breastfeeding in Black people are not a new phenomenon. Slavery often robbed Black women of the ability to breastfeed their children because they had to breastfeed their enslavers' children instead. Or their enslavers prohibited them from breastfeeding entirely because it could reduce fertility. Fewer pregnancies would mean fewer enslaved children to enrich their enslavers further.

After the abolition of slavery, the need to work for pay outside the home meant Black women remained less able, and less likely, to breastfeed their own children. But Black women continued to serve as white women’s wet nurses.

Racist marketing and policies also affected Black breastfeeding. Formula companies aggressively targeted Black communities in their advertising campaigns. Additionally, lawmakers, policymakers, nonprofits, and others often excluded them from programs that support and encourage breastfeeding. Black birthing people  report that hospitals give their newborns formula without permission. Because of these factors, Black people have lower rates of breastfeeding. This leaves Black infants especially vulnerable during a formula shortage.

We need safe infant formula to be accessible to all of us. But using it should be a choice, not something forced upon us.

Longstanding systemic barriers to breastfeeding, such as the lack of a federal paid leave and the underfunding of lactation professionals in hospitals, have led to more and more Black moms opting out of breastfeeding altogether or discontinuing after a few weeks. This has implications for both maternal and infant health.

SOURCE: The Bump • AUTHOR: Kimberly Seals Allers • LAST UPDATED: June 1, 2022