CDC's Breastfeeding Report Card Says U.S. Doesn't Make the Grade

Michelle Obama's focus on breastfeeding promotion as part of her Let's Move campaign to end childhood obesity will put our society's ignorance of breastfeeding benefits in the spotlight.

But we must do more. The 2010 Breastfeeding Report Card highlights a few key recommendations for increasing initiation and duration rates nationwide. They include:

• Birth facility support. Birth facility policies and practices significantly impact whether a woman chooses to start breastfeeding and how long she continues.
• Professional support. A strong statewide group of professional breastfeeding experts and International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) is needed to assist the mother-infant pair, create and administer lactation programs, and educate other health professionals about breastfeeding.
• Legislation. Most states now have some type of law protecting the right to breastfeed but there are many cases in which these laws are not being upheld and/or implemented sufficiently. The laws requiring support for breastfeeding mothers in the workplace are a step in the right direction.
• Infrastructure. It's important to increase the number of state health department full-time equivalents (FTEs) responsible for breastfeeding. According to the CDC's report, there are 97 FTEs supporting breastfeeding mothers and babies in their states. This represents less than two FTEs per state. The report also suggests growing statewide breastfeeding coalitions with public websites as a way to educate women and families.
• Support in child care settings. Child care facilities play an important role in breastfeeding promotion. States that lack regulations that support breastfeeding at child care facilities are encouraged to meet best-practice national standards.