Seeking info on breastfeeding military families- funding to offer suppor

August 18, 2016 10:20 AM

I work in a women's health organization and I was just at a conference were I heard how difficult it is for military familie I would like to propose to my boss that we do some work around supporting military families with breastfeeding support. I would like to find out the following, can you tell me where I can find this information? 1. How many military families are there in the US? 2. How many of these families are breastfeeding- this can be a partner or the similarity personnel 3. What are their health outcomes and rates of breastfeeding Also, some one at the conference said that their are grants to fund this type of work which my organization can apply for. Just trying to make the case for my boss and I have had no luck researching on google. thanks!
posted by TRUELOTUS to Work & Money (13 answers total)

You're probably best off calling a base in your area (Fort Dix a.k.a. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, maybe?). They might not be able to answer your question about grants, but they can probably push you up the ladder.
posted by Etrigan at 10:28 AM on August 18, 2016

You probably want to start at the Department of Defense.
posted by MexicanYenta at 10:44 AM on August 18, 2016

Civilian on a military installation here. We have a lactation room, it's open to civilian and military personnel. So it's not like it's completely unknown.

When people have a difficult time getting information from my agency they call their local congressional office. A congressional staffer makes the inquiry on your behalf then gives you the information. You might want to consider that.
posted by fixedgear at 10:53 AM on August 18, 2016

#1 - Are you counting ALL US military families worldwide, or just the ones stationed in the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii?
#2 - You are unlikely to find a definitive answer to this: many parents would feel it is not any business of the military as to how they feed their kids, and there would be no requirement on the military's part that breastfeeding (or not) be reported to them (especially if the mother is the military member's spouse, not a military member herself).
#3 - The most information you'll get on this will be, at best, a broad percentage: anything detailed about individuals would be protected under HIPAA regulations.
posted by easily confused at 11:00 AM on August 18, 2016

Breastfeeding In Combat Boots may have some useful resources for you.
posted by meggan at 11:31 AM on August 18, 2016

Response by poster: Having a lactation room is different than having support when nursing. I am speaking about peer support, and lactation consultants. Thanks!
posted by TRUELOTUS at 12:12 PM on August 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Yes, I have been on that site and Mom2Mom global- I am trying to do some research, but if I cannot find help here I will reach out to them. Thanks!
posted by TRUELOTUS at 12:13 PM on August 18, 2016

Response by poster: Yes, all US military families- worldwide. But, even a # for those living in the US and the jurisdictions I would take!
posted by TRUELOTUS at 12:16 PM on August 18, 2016

You don't have to reach out to Breastfeeding in Combat Boots, you just have to click through and look at resources. You could also pursue the avenues suggested above. As a pregnant person who is in this sphere, almost all of this is very easy to google.

For example here is an easy resource on what the military policies are on maternity and breastfeeding.

Here is what our insurance typically covers.

Here is a state by state list of peer groups and other lactation support offered on base. Plus I think it has some Facebook links.

For number of families, google the Department of Defense annual demographic survey. The rate of breastfeeding will not be something that would be part of easy to access research, it might be something you could apply to study. Again, for privacy reasons, its not something that's going to be documented readily.
posted by stormygrey at 1:07 PM on August 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Breastfeeding practices in military families: a 12-month prospective population-based study in the national capital region.

CDC: Breastfeeding data

Anecdotally: I was a military wife for many years. I breastfed both my children, the first until he was nearly 2 years old and the second I breastfed full time for 10 days and once a day thereafter for the immune boost because he was lactose intolerant and rejected my milk at age 10 days.

When I was a spouse, unemployment among spouses was far higher than for the general population, up around 30%. This was partly because locals do not want to hire someone they know is just going to move in a couple of years or so and partly because the military has good benefits which make it easier to have a stay-at-home parent. The military and other federal positions help compensate for the hiring issue by giving preference in hiring to military spouses for at least some jobs.

When I did have issues with breastfeeding my sons, the medical personnel I dealt with were not helpful or informative. They had no clue how to support me. I took my 10 day old baby who was rejecting my milk to the clinic and no one suggested he might be lactose intolerant. I again took him at 4 months when he had diarrhea for 9 days straight and was essentially blown off. It was later that I determined on my own he didn't tolerate milk.

I also had at least one other issue with feeding him that involved a clogged milk duct. They were utterly useless. I solved it myself.

I haven't read any of the following, but you said you were having a hard time finding stuff, so this is stuff I found:

Army Public Health Center: Breastfeeding Resources

Supporting Active Duty Military Mothers as an IBCLC

Photo of military moms breastfeeding in uniform goes viral

Breastfeeding in Combat Boots: Military Policies

Air Force Mom Breastfeeding In Uniform Is A Stunning Look At Military Motherhood

Is the U.S. Military Ready to Accommodate Breastfeeding Soldiers?

Best of luck.
posted by Michele in California at 1:07 PM on August 18, 2016

Response by poster: Can anyone answer or point me to where to find

1. How many military families are there in the US?
2. Grants for a non-profit to provide programming/services to support breastfeeding military families- not looking for policies (that is ez to find) just DATA! Thanks
posted by TRUELOTUS at 2:58 PM on August 18, 2016

I am on a tablet, so I have trouble with direct links to PDFs, but I think this is the correct link to a roughly 200 page report with gobs of stats on military members from 2014:

http://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2014-Demographics-Report.pdf

It lists total number worldwide at about 1.3 million and has a section on marital status and lots of other info.

This recent ask has some solid info in the first and last replies on how to find grants:

http://ask.metafilter.com/299315/Grants-funding-for-helping-women-who-are-experiencing-substance-use-di
posted by Michele in California at 3:26 PM on August 18, 2016

My local library helps people search for grants, have you tried asking them for help?
posted by SyraCarol at 5:20 PM on August 18, 2016