Majority Of U.S. Hospitals Don’t Fully Support Breastfeeding Reports CDC

A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows missed opportunities for preventing childhood obesity beginning at birth.

Breastfeeding protects against childhood obesity, yet less than 4 percent of U.S. hospitals provide the full range of support mothers need to be able to breastfeed, according to the most recent Vital Signs report released by the CDC. Improving rates of breastfeeding by providing better hospital support to mothers and babies is an important strategy to improve children?s health, including a reduced risk of childhood obesity.

Breastfeeding: Beneficial for Mother and Baby

Breastfeeding provides babies with antibodies passed from the nursing mother which help fight against many infections and increase the babies immune function. There have been several studies done on children who have been breastfed versus bottle fed. These studies have found that children who are breastfed may be protected against:

• Allergies
• Asthma
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

These benefits are not just for the baby but for the mom as well. Mothers who breastfeed are at a lower risk for:

• Breast cancer
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Uterine cancer
• Ovarian cancer

“Hospitals play a vital role in supporting a mother to be able to breastfeed,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Those first few hours and days that a mom and her baby spend learning to breastfeed are critical. Hospitals need to better support breastfeeding, as this is one of the most important things a mother can do for her newborn. Breastfeeding helps babies grow up healthy and reduces health care costs.”

The report examined data from CDC?s national survey of Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC). It finds that only 14 percent of hospitals have a written, model breastfeeding policy.

The report also finds that in nearly 80 percent of hospitals, healthy breastfeeding infants are given formula when it is not medically necessary, a practice that makes it much harder for mothers and babies to learn how to breastfeed and continue breastfeeding at home.

Additionally, only one–third of hospitals practice rooming in, which helps mothers and babies learn to breastfeed by allowing frequent chances to breastfeed.

CDC?s mPINC survey measures the percent of U.S. hospitals with practices that are consistent with the WHO/UNICEF Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. This list of proven hospital practices that increase rates of breastfeeding by providing support to mothers is the core of the Baby–Friendly Hospital Initiative and is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The steps include:

• Not giving healthy, breastfeeding infants food or drink other than breast milk unless there is a medical need for it
• Encouraging mothers to room in, staying with their baby 24 hours a day
• Connecting mothers with support groups and other resources to help with breastfeeding after they leave the hospital

A hospital can be designated as Baby–Friendly when it has made special efforts to support mothers to start and continue breastfeeding and when it demonstrates that it follows all of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

“In the United States most women want to breastfeed, and most women start,” said Ursula Bauer, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “But without hospital support many women have a hard time continuing to breastfeed, and they stop early. It is critical that hospitals take action to fully support breastfeeding mothers and babies so they can continue to breastfeed long after their hospital stay.”more at source