Breastfeeding Sisters That Are Receiving Support: Community-Based Peer Support Program Created for and by Women of Color

摘要

Substantial racial disparities accounted for 66% of non-Hispanic black mothers initiating breastfeeding in 2015 compared with 83% of non-Hispanic white mothers and 87% of Hispanic mothers in Tennessee. Created in 2015, Breastfeeding Sisters That Are Receiving Support (BSTARS) uses key partnerships at monthly meetings that promote supportive environments with topics around breastfeeding education, support, and women's health issues. The BSTARS group helps rebuild the culture surrounding the health equity of black women and women of color and their families by offering informational and emotional support, facilitate positive changes, and heal historical trauma. BSTARS addresses barriers to breastfeeding support for black women and women of color, including lack of support from the mother's partner, family, or health care provider, generational myths, unawareness of public health programs to support breastfeeding, educational gaps, and embarrassment.