Catholic social teaching and America’s suboptimal breastfeeding rate: Where faith and policy should meet to combat injustice

Abstract

Despite the numerous health benefits of breastfeeding, few American women breastfeed for the optimal duration of time. Reasons given for not following national and global institutional breastfeeding recommendations are various and multi-faceted. However, for many American women who would like to breastfeed, unjust historical, social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors negatively impact their ability to breastfeed. Catholic social teaching seeks to protect the poor and the vulnerable by working for social and economic justice, encourages stewardship of the environment, and uplifts the family as the most important unit in society. As such, Catholic social teaching has clear implications for individuals and institutions seeking to make breastfeeding a more widespread, accepted practice. In response to the crisis in American rates of breastfeeding, American Catholic healthcare institutions should work to promote the just economic and social conditions necessary for American women to breastfeed their children, starting by implementing breastfeeding-friendly policies for patients and employees in their own institutions.

Summary: For many American women who would like to breastfeed, unjust historical, social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors negatively impact their ability to breastfeed. Catholic social teaching has clear implications for individuals and institutions seeking to make breastfeeding a more widespread, accepted practice. Therefore, American Catholic healthcare institutions should work particularly hard to promote the just economic and social conditions necessary for American women to breastfeed their children, starting by implementing breastfeeding-friendly policies for patients and employees in their own institutions.

Keywords:

• Breastfeeding
• Infant feeding
• Formula
• WIC
• Catholic social teaching
• Social justice
• Maternity leave
• Economic policy

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Grace Emily Stark

Grace Emily Stark holds a master of the arts in bioethics and health policy from the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics at Loyola University Chicago. This paper was Mrs. Stark’s capstone project for the M.A. program at Loyola. Mrs. Stark also holds a B.S. in healthcare management and policy from Georgetown University. She recently moved from Guam to San Diego, where she works as a freelance writer and resides with her husband, Michael, and their son, Gabriel.