Feminist Studies
Selected abstracts from the Breastfeeding and Feminism International Conference 2016
Breastfeeding rates vary widely around the world, and change over
time. Currently, as summarised in the recent Lancet series, poorer
women in low and middle-income countries have higher rates of
breastfeeding than richer women. In contrast, in high-income countries
infants in poorer families are less likely to be breastfeed than infants
in more advantaged families. Evidence from Australia and
Canada suggests that this gap between rich and poor in developed
countries is widening and contributes to the health inequities faced
by families living in poverty. Children growing up in poverty have
poorer health and development. The human brain undergoes huge
growth in the early years of life. Brain scanning techniques show that
the increase in total grey matter volume is significantly higher in children
from wealthy families compared to poor children. The imaging
differences are also reflected in better cognitive development in the
children from higher socioeconomic status families. New research
suggests that breastfeeding may reduce this income-related
difference.
Discussion
Food insecurity can be defined as ‘limited or uncertain availability of
nutritionally adequate and safe foods or the limited or uncertain ability
to acquire such foods in socially acceptable ways’. This is a common
situation for people experiencing disadvantage and leads to
worse health status. Libby Salmon discusses the concepts of food security
as they apply to infants and young children
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