Not
enough babies are breastfeeding as recommended:
Only 22% of babies are exclusively breastfed for 6 months as recommended.
Only 29% are breastfed for 12 months as recommended.
Babies who are breastfed have reduced risks of ear and respiratory infections, asthma, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), diabetes, and obesity.
Some of the Ten Steps on which hospitals fell shortest in 2013 included:
-
Just 26% of hospitals had a model breastfeeding policy (Step 1).
-
Only 26% of hospitals did not routinely feed formula to healthy, breastfed infants when there was no medical reason to do so (Step 6).
-
Less than half (45%) of hospitals kept mothers and babies together throughout the entire hospital stay, which provides opportunities to breastfeed and helps mothers learn feeding cues (Step 7).
-
Just 32% of hospitals provided enough support for breastfeeding mothers when they left the hospital (Step 10).
What Can Be Done?
The Federal government is
■ Helping hospitals become designated as Baby-Friendly through funding and technical assistance.
■ Supporting state health departments to help hospitals improve maternity care practices.
■ Tracking hospital policies and practices that support breastfeeding using CDC’s Maternity
■ Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) survey to evaluate federal, state and local efforts.
■ Making breastfeeding counseling and supplies available to families with no out-of-pocket costs through a health insurance plan provision of the Affordable Care Act.
States and local government can
■ Adopt standards for hospitals to support breastfeeding.
■ Help hospitals implement the
Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.
■Help hospitals connect mothers to community programs for support once they leave the hospital.
Healthcare providers can
■Help write hospital policies that support mothers and babies to breastfeed.
■Counsel mothers on breastfeeding during prenatal visits.
■Include lactation care providers and other breastfeeding experts on patient care teams.
■Support breastfeeding in the hospital and at well-baby visits.
Mothers and their families can
■Talk to their healthcare providers about breastfeeding plans, and ask about how to get help with breastfeeding.
■Ask about breastfeeding support practices and Baby-Friendly designation when choosing a maternity hospital.
■Join with other community members to encourage.
|