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Nearly all births in the United States occur in hospital settings,1 but hospital practices and policies in maternity settings can undermine maternal and infant health by creating barriers to supporting a mother’s decision to breastfeed. National data from the ongoing CDC survey of Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) indicate that barriers to breastfeeding are widespread during labor, delivery, and postpartum care, as well as in hospital discharge planning.2 Results of the 2015 mPINC survey showed that, on average, U.S. hospitals scored only 79 out of a possible 100 points on an overall measure of breastfeeding-related maternity care.2
Action Guides
- Doctors In Action [PDF-405KB]
- Nurses In Action [PDF-363KB]
- Health Care Leaders In Action [PDF-399KB]
How Health Care Can Support Breastfeeding
- Ensure that maternity care practices around the U.S. are fully supportive of breastfeeding. [PDF-903.73KB]
- Develop systems to guarantee continuity of skilled support for lactation between hospitals and health care settings in the community. [PDF-903.73KB]
- Provide education and training in breastfeeding for all health professionals who care for women and children. [PDF-903.73KB]
- Include basic support for breastfeeding as a standard of care for midwives, obstetricians, family physicians, nurse practitioners, and pediatricians. [PDF-903.73KB]
- Ensure access to services provided by International Board Certified Lactation Consultants. [PDF-903.73KB]
- Identify and address obstacles to greater availability of safe banked donor milk for fragile infants. [PDF-903.73KB]
Hospitals can
- Partner with Baby-Friendly™ hospitals to learn how to improve maternity care.
- Use CDC’s Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) survey data to prioritize changes to improve maternity care practices.
- Stop distributing formula samples and give-aways to breastfeeding mothers.
- Work with community organizations, doctors, and nurses to create networks that provide at-home or clinic-based breastfeeding support for every newborn.
- Become Baby-Friendly™.
Doctors and nurses can
- Help write hospital policies that help every mother be able to breastfeed.
- Learn how to counsel mothers on breastfeeding during prenatal visits, and support breastfeeding in the hospital and at each pediatric doctor’s visit until breastfeeding stops.
- Include lactation consultants and other breastfeeding experts on patient care teams.
- Coordinate lactation care between the hospital and outpatient clinic.
Related Resources
References
- Hamilton BE, Martin JA, Osterman JK. Births: Preliminary Data for 2015. National Vital Statistics Reports 2016 Jun; 65(3):1-15 Available at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr65/nvsr65_03.pdf. Access date: August 12, 2016.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Survey of Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/mpinc/index.htm . Access date: August 12, 2016.
- Page last reviewed: August 12, 2016
- Page last updated: August 12, 2016
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