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Breastfeeding in the U.S.: New
National Data, Federal Priorities, and Lessons from the Field
Wednesday, May 11, 2005, 2-3 p.m., EDT
Overview
The benefits of breastfeeding are numerous. According to
the HHS Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding released by the Department
of Health and Human Services in 2000, breastfeeding not only improves resistance
to infectious and chronic diseases among infants, it promotes infants’ physical
and cognitive development, maternal health, and offers socioeconomic benefits
to families and communities. Despite these benefits, the United States has
one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the developed world. While most
new mothers initiate breastfeeding, more than one half discontinue by six
months and only 13.3 percent of children are exclusively breastfed at six
months.
This DataSpeak program will feature a representative from the National
Center for Health Statistics, who will present new national breastfeeding
data from
the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, and a conversation with senior
officials from the Office on Women’s Health and the Maternal and
Child Health Bureau about Federal breastfeeding priorities and initiatives.
The
program also will include a discussion with a representative of the Maternity
Care Coalition in Philadelphia about lessons learned in planning and implementing
breastfeeding programs at the local level. An opportunity to pose questions
to presenters will also be included.
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