Most recent news stories

2009 MBC Breastfeeding-Friendly Award Recipients

October 21, 2009

Each year the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition celebrates retail businesses and public agencies in communities across Massachusetts who support the breastfeeding efforts of mothers by making them feel welcome nursing in their establishment, or in other ways. The MBC also celebrates employers in Massachusetts who actively support the efforts of their employees who want to continue breastfeeding when they return to work after maternity/adoptive leave. Congratulations to the 2009 recipients of the MBC Breastfeeding-Friendly Awards — their names are listed below.

Business awards

• Lizzy’s Ice Cream – Waltham, MA
• M & M Medical Supply – Mendon, MA
• Mashpee Health Center Oncology Department – Mashpee, MA
• Pioneer Valley Pediatrics – Longmeadow, MA
• Taunton WIC Program – Taunton, MA

AAP Endorses Ten Steps

September 30, 2009

Elk Grove Village, IL-The American Academy of Pediatrics has now officially endorsed the WHO/UNICEF Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. In a private letter to the heads of the World Health Organization and UNICEF dated August 25, the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics announced that the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of AAP approved the endorsement. AAP have asked to be listed as an official signatory, with the “footnote” that that there are certain circumstances where newborns may benefit from the use of pacifiers, such as for “calming in a drug exposed infant” and “painful procedures.” Dr. David Tayloe, head of the AAP, made it clear in the letter that AAP is not asking for the WHO to revise the Ten Steps.

The Ten Steps are part of the WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, which adds an additional requirement to Step 6, requiring that hospitals purchase their formula at fair-market value rather than receive it for free, as is typically done as part of the industry’s standard marketing procedures to market name-brand formula. Because the AAP letter does not specifically mention the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, AAP is not endorsing the requirement to pay fair-market value for formula.

The AAP already has a curriculum on breastfeeding designed for resident physicians training in pediatrics. AAP’s endorsement comes on the tail of the new perinatal Core Measures from the Joint Commission, which will start requiring hospitals to record their rates of exclusive breastfeeding in nursing mothers.

The AAP’s endorsement letter is available here.

Celebrating World Breastfeeding Week with a new hip ad

August 27, 2009

The Best for Babes Foundation has released the second in its series of ads to suppport breastfeeding, by eliminating “booby traps” that trip up new moms. See the ad and read more here.

Joint Commission approves breastfeeding measure

July 31, 2009

Oakbrook Village, IL–In a major step forward for public health, the group that accredits US hospitals will hold maternity hospitals accountable for the quality of care they provide to breastfeeding mothers and babies.

“This is one huge step for breastfeeding in the US,” says Melissa Bartick, MD, Chair of the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition. “This move will really help moms get the support they need in order to reach their own breastfeeding goals.” Multiple studies have shown that maternity care makes a huge difference for breastfeeding success.

The new measure, which is part of the Joint Commission’s new Perinatal Care measure set, requires hospitals to report the rate of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers who intend to breastfeed. The measure does not affect women who do not plan to breastfeed.

A recent CDC survey found that many US hospital routines undermine mothers who want to breastfeed. Giving formula to healthy breastfed infants was common, despite evidence from multiple studies that babies who receive formula in the hospital wean earlier than those who do not.

More than half of US mothers wean their babies earlier than they want to, and their struggles begin with poor care during their maternity stay. “Mothers deserve high-quailty support,” Bartick said. This measure is expected to encourage hospitals to adopt a variety of measures to support breastfeeding mothers and infants. For example, breastfeeding in the first hour of life, skin to skin contact, and rooming-in all help promote exclusive breastfeeding.

The exclusive breastfeeding measure was pioneered as part of a quality improvement effort in California, where public health officials found huge differences in exclusive breastfeeding rates from hospital to hospital. In some cases, nearly all breastfed infants were being supplemented with formula. In the top ranked hospitals, including San Francisco General Hospital, fewer than 10% of breastfed infants received supplements. Public reporting of differences in formula use has led hospitals to review their routines and improve quality of care.

The exclusive breastfeeding measure is one of 5 indicators that comprise the new perinatal core measure set. Other indicators include rates of cesarean section, elective delivery before 39 weeks, use of steroids for women at risk for preterm birth, and health care-associated infections in newborns.

The Joint Commission accredits US hospitals, and their measures have a strong influence on quality improvement priorities. Data collection is expected to begin in April 2010. To read more, go to the Joint Commission’s page.

New study shows breastfeeding links with less maternal cardiovascular disease

April 28, 2009

A woman’s breastfeeding history continues to affect her health even after menopause, according to a new study announced this month in Obstetrics and Gynecology. According to the study, the longer a woman breastfeeds, the lower her risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The massive study, of over 130,000 women from the Women’s Health Initiative, boosts previous research from other large studies from the Nurse’s Health Study showing that longer lifetime breastfeeding is linked with lower risk of maternal type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease.

Women who breastfed more than twelve months had significantly lower risks of these four conditions. The study controlled for many possible confounding factors, including body mass index, family history, race, age, number of children, and age at menopause.

These results further support the rising demand for better support of breastfeeding as a women’s health issue. While over 3/4 of women initiate breastfeeding, most stop in the first weeks or months. The causes are multi-factorial, but include widespread failure of hospitals in the US to practice evidence-based care around breastfeeding, lack of insurance reimbursement for lactation care and services, aggressive marketing of infant formula by hospitals and health professionals, and lack of paid maternity leave and worksite support. Less than 3% of US hospitals are certified as “Baby-Friendly,” and a recent CDC survey found the average US hospital scored only 63 out of 100 possible points in their compliance with evidence-based care around breastfeeding. The US joins Lesotho, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea as the only four countries in the world without paid maternity leave.

While evidence around the health effects of not breastfeeding tends to focus on the health of the infant, the evidence for the importance of breastfeeding on women’s health is growing. Previous studies have already linked duration of breastfeeding with lower risks of maternal breast and ovarian cancer.

“When we fail to provide the support young families need to breastfeed, we increase the risks of health problems for mothers and for babies,” states Dr. Alison Stuebe, a North Carolina obstetrician and one of the authors of the new study.