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Committing to Breastfeeding in Social Work

Carol Grace Hurst1, Rebecca Reno1, Tess Lefmann1

  • 1Carol Grace Hurst, PhD, is associate professor and program director of social work, Applied Social Sciences, Eastern Mennonite University, 1200 Park Road, Harrisonburg, VA; e-mail: carol.hurst@emu.edu. Rebecca Reno, PhD, is maternal child health postdoctoral fellow, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. Tess Lefmann, PhD, is assistant professor, Department of Social Work, School of Applied Sciences, University of Mississippi, University.

Social Work
|May 3, 2018
PubMed

This article addresses the importance of breastfeeding for the social work profession. Because breastfeeding is a critical component of maternal and child health, persistent racial and socioeconomic breastfeeding inequality is a social justice issue in need of social work commitment. Even while breastfeeding rates have been increasing in the United States there are some groups of mothers who initiate breastfeeding less frequently or have trouble with sustaining breastfeeding for recommended lengths. These mothers and their babies thus miss out on the ample benefits of this nurturing interaction. Using social work's unique disciplinary perspective and commitment to social justice, the authors place essential understanding of breastfeeding health benefits within the core values of the National Association of Social Work ethical code. The practice context for early breastfeeding intervention with mothers and families is discussed with acknowledgment of the maternal-child health focus at the root of the profession. Recognition of the potential of contemporary social work to advance breastfeeding equity through practice, scholarship, and action positions breastfeeding support activities as integral to meeting the grand challenges of the social work profession.

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