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STEUBENVILLE -- August is dedicated to promoting breastfeeding and its benefits, as proclaimed by the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee. Breastfeeding rates and barriers in the United States vary greatly across different racial, geographical and socioeconomic groups and among those with access to paid leave. Aim Women's Center advocates for and teaches about the importance of breastfeeding to its clients, as well as providing doula support for breastfeeding education.
Breastfeeding remains one of the most effective early health interventions for infants and mothers, yet many families continue to face significant barriers that prevent them from initiating or sustaining it. As national and state health agencies renew their focus on maternal-child health, understanding the benefits and obstacles is essential for shaping supportive policies and community programs.
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of respiratory infections, gastrointestinal illness, ear infections, SIDS and chronic conditions such as asthma and obesity. Mothers who breastfeed experience lower rates of postpartum depression, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Skin-to-skin contact and responsive feeding strengthen maternal-infant bonding and support cognitive development.
Increased breastfeeding rates could save the U.S. billions annually in health care costs and lost productivity due to preventable childhood illness. Yet structural, social and medical challenges to breastfeeding persist. Despite strong evidence supporting breastfeeding, many families encounter obstacles that make it difficult to begin or continue.
Inadequate maternity leave, lack of private pumping spaces in the workplace and inflexible schedules remain major barriers for working mothers. Limited lactation support in hospitals, inconsistent provider training and early formula supplementation can undermine breastfeeding success. Stigma around breastfeeding in public, lack of family support and misinformation contribute to early cessation. Families in low-income or rural communities often face reduced access to lactation consultants, breastfeeding supplies and supportive community programs.
Medical challenges such as low milk supply, infant latching difficulties, maternal health conditions and postpartum complications require specialized support that is not always accessible.
"Breastfeeding is a powerful public health tool, but it requires systems that support mothers rather than placing the burden solely on them," said Kateri Walters, a contracted doula for Aim Women's Center. "When communities invest in lactation support, workplace accommodations and evidence-based education, breastfeeding rates rise -- and so do health outcomes."
Public health organizations emphasize that improving breastfeeding rates requires coordinated action such as expanding paid family leave, ensuring workplace pumping accommodations, increasing access to lactation consultants, strengthening hospital breastfeeding protocols, supporting community-based peer counseling programs and reducing stigma through public education campaigns.
In Ohio, the breastfeeding initiation rate is 83.1%, compared with 86.1% nationally. However, 30.4% of Ohio mothers are breastfeeding exclusively at six months, compared with 29.38% nationally, which Aim Executive Director Rebekah Cohen Morris says is a promising number.
"While we recognize our state has more work to do to improve maternal and infant health, it’s heartening to see our state ahead of the national norm in a very important maternal infant health statistic," she said.
This year's National Breastfeeding Month message is RISE: Resilience, Interdependence, Self-Determination and Empowerment, and Cohen Morris said it's a perfect theme for Aim and its clients.
"Every day our clients face challenges that can undermine their families' health, and yet every day, we see them rise above these challenges with resilience and determination," she said. "For a mom to recognize that she grew a life and can sustain that life through her own body -- by nursing her child -- is incredibly empowering."
Aim Women's Center encourages expectant mothers to choose life and gives them the support they need to have a healthy and positive pregnancy, birth and family life. To learn more about Aim, visit www.aimwomenscenter.com
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