HHS Blueprint and Breastfeeding Policy Statements

HHS BLUEPRINT AND BREASTFEEDING POLICY STATEMENTS

Illustration of a woman breastfeeding with father watching over.

A subcommittee of the Federal Interagency Working Group on Women's Health and the Environment developed the HHS Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding (archive), released in October 2000 by the Surgeon General, representing the first comprehensive framework on breastfeeding for the Nation.

The Blueprint focuses attention on the importance of breastfeeding and recommends action steps for the health care system, families, the community, researchers and the workplace to promote breastfeeding. The framework also identifies racial and ethnic disparities that exist in breastfeeding, and reveals extremely low rates that exist among African American women. The plan was developed by several organizations in the medical, business, women's health, advocacy and academic communities and promotes a plan for breastfeeding based on education, training, awareness, support and research. Specifically, the plan lays out a framework based on the recommendation that infants be exclusively breastfed for the first 4-6 months of a baby's life, preferably 6 months.

Currently, OWH has commissioned an evidence-based review from the Agency for Healthcare and Quality Research to update the scientific evidence presented in the Blueprint. The review will evaluate all of the recently published studies related to breastfeeding and infant health outcomes, maternal health outcomes, and best practices to promote and support breastfeeding.

Current as of August 2007

HHS recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months.
But what if I am unable to breastfeed?

The following publications and organizations provide more information on breastfeeding guidelines and initiatives:

Publications

Breastfeeding Among U.S. Children Born 1999—2005, CDC National Immunization Survey - This report includes the results of the 2003 National Immunization Survey on breastfeeding. The results provide overall population estimates for the initiation, duration, and exclusivity of breastfeeding, as well as geographically-specific breastfeeding rates.

http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/NIS_data/

Breastfeeding Report Card - The Breastfeeding Report Card — United States, 2008 shows how breastfeeding is being protected, promoted, and supported in each state and allows comparisons across states, making it an important tool for increasing breastfeeding nationwide

http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/report_card.htm

Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health - This report explains the background, context, goals, and leading health indicators for Healthy People 2010.

http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/

HHS Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding - This publication contains information action steps for the health care system, familes and communities, researchers and the workplace to better focus attention on the importance of breastfeeding. (archive)

http://www.womenshealth.gov/archive/breastfeeding/programs/blueprints/bluprntbk2.cfm ...

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations on Counseling to Promote Breastfeeding - This publication summarizes the U.S. Preventative Services Task force recommendations for when and how health professionals should counsel patients about breastfeeding.

http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspsbrfd.htm

A Current Summary of Breastfeeding Legislation in the U.S. (Copyright © LLLI) - This publication contains information about breastfeeding legislation, the importance of breastfeeding, issues around breastfeeding in public, breastfeeding and jury duty, employment situations, and family law. There is also summary information available about legislation in each state.

http://www.llli.org/Law/LawBills.html

A Look at Enacting Breastfeeding Legislation (Copyright © LLLI) - This publication discusses a woman's constitutional right to breastfeed, restrictions on the right to breastfeed, breastfeeding promotion and support, types of legislation that can help, issues surrounding breastfeeding in public, employment, WIC programs, baby-friendly incentives/mother-friendly employers, family law (divorce/paternity), custody and visitation, jury duty, and how to assist a state in enacting breastfeeding legislation.

http://www.lalecheleague.org/Law/LawEnact.html

American Academy of Pediatrics' Policy on Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk (Copyright © AAP) - This publication is the latest policy statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics on the benefits of breastfeeding.

http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;115/2/496

Breastfeeding (Copyright © AWHONN) - AWHONN supports legislation and initiatives that promote and protect breastfeeding and lactation in the workplace. This statement describes elements of breastfeeding support legislation supported by AWHONN and provides background information.

http://www.awhonn.org/awhonn/content.do?name=02_PracticeResources%2F2C1_Breastfeeding.htm...

Breastfeeding is Priceless: No Substitute for Human Milk (Copyright © Lamaze International) - This policy statement from Lamaze International explains why they support breastfeeding over infant formula.

http://www.lamaze.org/client_files/policies/Breastfeeding%20position%20paper.pdf

Breastfeeding Position Paper (Copyright © AAFP) - This position paper from the American Academy of Family Physicians discusses breastfeeding's health effects and special breastfeeding issues such as maternal illness, infectious diseases, breast surgery, infant illness, nursing beyond infancy, and employment.

http://www.aafp.org/x6633.xml

http://www.acog.org/departments/underserved/breastfeedingStatement.pdf

Exclusive Breastfeeding (Copyright © WHO) - This publication announces the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation that mothers should breastfeed exclusively for six months. The WHO statement highlights important nutritional advantages and benefits of breastfeeding to both baby and mother, differences between human milk and animal milks, the Baby-Friendly Hospital initiative, and the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/exclusive_breastfeeding/en/

NAPNAP Position Statement on Breastfeeding - This position statement outlines the breastfeeding recommendations of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners (NAPNAP). It emphasizes breastfeeding's advantages for infants and families, the importance of breastfeeding support programs, the goals of such programs, and explains cases where NAPNAP concedes that breastfeeding may be contraindicated. NAPNAP encourages its membership to take six critical steps to improve breastfeeding practices.

http://www.napnap.org/index.cfm?page=54&sec=57

Position on Infant Feeding in Emergencies (Copyright © ILCA) - This position statement discusses the practice of breastfeeding during emergencies such as armed conflicts, natural disasters, refugee crisis and other events that can upset food supply, sanitation and breed illness. ILCA affirms that breastfeeding is often the safest and only way to feed infants in such a situation and discusses the ways that humanitarian aid workers can use breastfeeding education to better infant health in these situations.

http://ilca.org/InfantFeeding-EmergPP.pdf

Position Paper on HIV and Infant Feeding (Copyright © ILCA) - The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that 1 in 5 babies born to HIV-positive mothers become infected during pregnancy and delivery and 1 in 7 during breastfeeding. This publication denotes ILCA's position on how public health officials can work to address this problem and seek new scientific discoveries to reduce mother to child HIV transmission.

http://ilca.org/HIVandInfantFeedingPP.pdf

Position Statement: Breastfeeding (Copyright © ACNM) - The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) promotes breastfeeding as the optimal method of infant feeding. This statement reviews the benefits of breastfeeding for the infant and family, and suggests steps Nurse-Midwives should take in order to improve breastfeeding practices.

http://www.midwife.org/siteFiles/position/Breastfeeding_05.pdf

Prevention of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency: New Guidelines for Vitamin D Intake (Copyright © AAP) - Rickets in infants, caused by low vitamin D intake and decreased exposure to sunlight, continues to be reported in the United States. This report clarifies recommendations for Vitamin D intake, for both breastfed and formula fed infants. These new vitamin D intake guidelines for healthy infants and children are based on the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences.

http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;111/4/908?fulltext=Rickets&searchid=QI...

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_1728_ENU_HTML.htm

Organizations

= Indicates Federal Resources