WRKO-AM (Boston-Manchester, MA-NH) -- Interview #10

WRKO: What can you share with us that women need to know if they are planning to have a child or are pregnant at this time?

SG: Well it’s important that moms, and dads, and families and society in general is aware as to how important breastfeeding is. We’re concerned because the breastfeeding numbers are still a little bit low, and we want to make sure that as many moms as possible breastfeed, because the science indicates that babies who are breastfed have less diarrhea, less infections of the ear, less infections of the respiratory system and also are less likely to become overweight or obese later in life. So far all of these reasons, it’s important that we encourage moms and accommodate them to allow them to be able to breastfeed, as much as possible.

WRKO: And what are some ways we can encourage those moms?

SG: Well first of all increasing the level of awareness that not only their pediatricians and their primary care physicians are the ones telling them, but that dads are aware of the importance, that grandmas and grandpas are aware, that workplace is aware, that our society in general is away and embraces this practice, because it is to the benefit of all children in our country.

WRKO: And this month in particular is one way to keep the awareness up.

SG: You bet. This is the National Breastfeeding Month, August. But the bigger umbrella that all of this is under is the Year of the Healthy Child. My office in the past year has highlighted the health of our children and has looked at the metrics for measuring how healthy we are as a society. And we’re doing pretty well. But we can’t become complacent. There are still many areas of improvement to reduce disease, to reduce disability, injury, and to improve the health status of our children. And certainly breastfeeding is one very important way to do that.

WRKO: Give us some of the stats if you would.

SG: You bet. Happy to. What we find is back about 1950, almost all mothers breastfed their children. But by 1967 that was down to 25 percent. We attribute that to our society changing, moms working, culture changing and so on. And today at six months we’re still at about 27 percent of moms’ breastfeeding although for the first few weeks after birth it will increase, but then it drops pretty significantly. What we really want to do is get as close to 100 percent as possible at six months for all moms who are able to breastfeed. So the reason that we’re trying to increase the awareness now is that there is a gap and we know we can improve.

WRKO: As you said doctor, women and their role in society, their free time has clearly changed over the years. What can you advise these working women who may work for companies who give them a break to pump their milk, and some may not. What tips would you offer them?

SG: Well there are a lot of options out there and a lot of the information can be obtained from their primary care providers, from the Web sites like www.womenshealth.gov, as well as www.lalecheleague.org about breastfeeding. And on our Web site, surgeongeneral.gov. But the advice specifically is we as a society should do everything we can to accommodate moms in order to improve the health status of our children. We know that by breastfeeding it reduces infection, bonds more with the mom, so there are a lot of good reasons to encourage that. Many work places take this into account and accommodate moms. Many of them have lactating rooms. At airports and thoroughfares there are special bathrooms with lactation centers. So that it’s important as a society we embrace this and allow moms, as much as possible the privilege of breastfeeding their children.

WRKO: And other tips for keeping your child health?

SG: Well, there are a lot of those. Within the Year of the Healthy Child we’ve been emphasizing a lot of those, www.surgeongeneral.gov, you can find a lot of that information, but basically, they are age specific. So moms and ladies who are pregnant who want to optimize the health of their baby need to make sure they get good prenatal care. They need to make sure you remember you’re eating for two. Do not smoke. Do not drink alcohol, because we don’t know what level if any is safe when you are carrying a baby. Make sure you get good prenatal care. When the baby’s born make sure you’re plugged into a good primary care provider or pediatrician or someone who’s going to follow the growth and development of your child. Make sure the immunizations are given on time. Make sure that as the child grows and gets to that toddler stage that you safe proof your house. Make sure there are locks on all the cabinet doors so that children can’t get caustic substances. Make sure that their sleeping area’s safe and there aren’t a lot of cords to put in their mouth and choke on. So there are a lot of steps along the way that can help to improve the health and safety and welfare of our children.

WRKO: Alright, thank you so much for your time doctor.