| Description |
Research has shown that mediated advertisements can play a role in a woman's decision about whether or not to breastfeed her baby. Percentages of breastfeeding among African American women have been shown in national data to be significantly lower than other races in the United States. There have been several studies that attempt to explain why there is such a difference when it comes to race and breastfeeding. One explanation is that African American culture and upbringing practices function as barriers to breastfeeding. Some of the other explanations have to do with individuals' education, age, and social class. These other theories argue that race has little to do with the decision to breastfeed and, instead, argue that socio-economic status is a stronger predictor of whether a woman will chose to breasfeed. However, after decades of reaseach, African American women are still underrepresented in the initiation and sustaining of breastfeeding in modern society. And with parenting becoming more media-focused then ever before, advertisements could be influencing this important choice. Through a content analysis, I examine formula advertisements in Parent's magazine, starting with issues from 1998, when formula advertisements were on the rise, and ending in 2013. I examined and documented the amount of advertisements per issue, health messages communicated by the ads, and how many ads over the last 15 years targeted the African American demographic by using representative models. Overall, I found an underrepresentation of African Americans in breastfeeding related ads, but not formula or baby food advertisements. |
