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Community Professionals
As community professionals working with pre- and postnatal mothers, it is important for you to understand the impact of breastfeeding on the mother/baby dyad, and on the health and well-being of the communities you serve. The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) is a leader in supporting and promoting breastfeeding across the state, and wants to ensure that you have the most up-to-date education, resources, research and event information available. Below you will find information about breastfeeding for your use in better supporting the health of Hoosier mothers and babies.
Your Role
While many community professionals recognize the general benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and babies, it is important to realize that breastfeeding impacts public health in a significant way. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) specifically recommends that promotion and support for breastfeeding be provided when health professionals interact with women during prenatal and postpartum care. Education and counseling on breastfeeding are solidly recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in their Guidelines for Perinatal Care as a necessary part of prenatal and pediatric care. Likewise, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Nurse-Midwives call for the consistent delivery of breastfeeding education and counseling services.1
As a community professional, the U.S. Surgeon General recommends you take action to:
- Help pregnant women learn about the importance of breastfeeding for their babies and for themselves;
- Teach mothers to breastfeed;
- Encourage mothers to talk to their maternity care providers about plans to breastfeed;
- Support mothers to have time and flexibility to breastfeed; and
- Encourage mothers to ask for help with breastfeeding when needed.
Incorporating discussions and support of breastfeeding into your everyday interactions with pre- and postnatal mothers can make a significant impact on the success of that mother and her breastfeeding goals. For more information, view the U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding Basics
The impact of breastfeeding on mothers and infants is great, but a few key benefits include:
- It protects infants from ear infections, diarrhea and constipation, pneumonia, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), obesity, diabetes, asthma and allergies, childhood leukemia and eczema.
- It contains antibodies, hormones, anti-viruses, anti-allergens, anti-parasites, growth factors and enzymes that are not in formula.2
- Breastmilk is a dynamic feeding source. Its content changes as the infant grows and his or her nutritional needs change.
- It is always available for the infant and does not require money, a car, bottles, clean water, warming or sterilization.
- There is a positive correlation between breastfeeding and better cognitive development through school-age for children. 3
- Breastfeeding mothers have a lower risk of postpartum depression, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
- Physical contact is critical to the health and well-being of a newborn baby. Breastfeeding allows mom and baby to be “skin-to-skin” and helps the new baby feel secure, warm and comforted.
- The physical closeness of breastfeeding boosts oxytocin levels. Oxytocin is the hormone that helps breastmilk flow and it helps the new mother relax and feel calm.
- Breastfeeding can contribute to helping new mothers return to a healthy weight postpartum.
- Families that choose breastfeeding typically save hundreds of dollars per year that might otherwise be spent on formula and supplies. It also saves our economy money because babies stay healthier and parents take fewer sick days at work and submit fewer health insurance claims. 4
Breastfeeding Resources
When you are working with a mother who is considering nursing, or is in need of additional support while nursing, it is critical that you know where to find help. Lactation specialists play a very important role in supporting new mothers and can be a great resource for you as well.
- Local
- National
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- Breastfeeding USA
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Breastfeeding
- International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE)
- International Lactation Consultant Association
- La Leche League International
- National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition
- United States Breastfeeding Committee
- Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health - Breastfeeding
- World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
How ISDH is Helping
The ISDH is proud to announce the completion of the Indiana State Breastfeeding Plan 2016 - 2021. This plan is a roadmap to continue to build upon the outstanding work already done in the state to support and promote breastfeeding. We encourage you to review the plan and find out where you or you organization fit under its goals and activities. Seek out partnerships and collaborations that drive our shared vision forward. The more of us working together toward the same goals, the more quickly we will see breastfeeding support, education and promotion expand in our state.
The ISDH is also supporting breastfeeding across the state through work in many of its divisions. Click on the links below to learn about how each division is encouraging and supporting nursing mothers and breastfeeding.
- ISDH Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity (DNPA) - DNPA supports the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), which is a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and implemented in the United States by Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. (BFUSA). The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative recognizes and awards birthing facilities which successfully implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes. The BFHI assists hospitals in providing all mothers with the information, confidence, and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies or feeding formula safely, and gives special recognition to hospitals that have done so.
- ISDH Maternal Child Health Division (MCH) – MCH provides a wide variety of resources on its webpage and through its Indiana Family Helpline. This helpline provides resources and referrals for mothers and children in Indiana. MCH also hosts the Educating Physicians in their Communities (EPIC) program. This program is a train-the-trainer model of breastfeeding education that gives providers the content and knowledge needed to train many additional colleagues and staff within their practices and communities.
- ISDH Office of Minority Health (OMH) – The Indiana State Department of Health’s (ISDH) vision is to ensure that all residents have a healthier and safer quality of life. The State Partnership Grant Program, Enhancing Minority Partnership Opportunities; Working to Eliminate Disparities (EMPOWERED), addresses issues of adult obesity, infant mortality, workforce diversity, and racial and ethnic data collection, and ensures opportunities for cultural competence training and the statewide promotion of the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care. One of the focuses for OMH will be breastfeeding and the challenges of breastfeeding for minority communities in Allen, Lake and Marion Counties.
- Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program - WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) is a nutrition program, nationally recognized as an effective means for improving access to nutritious foods and promoting healthier eating and lifestyles. The Indiana WIC program supports breastfeeding mothers in multiple ways. WIC provides access to lactation specialists, resources, training and breastfeeding education and supplies for mothers who quality.
- ISDH Office of Women’s Health (OWH) – The OWH supports breastfeeding across the state by acting to coordinate breastfeeding programming at the ISDH and through implementation of the new Indiana State Breastfeeding Plan.
References
1Office of the Surgeon General (US); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US); Office on Women's Health (US). Rockville (MD): Office of the Surgeon General (US); 2011. The Surgeon General’s call to action to support breastfeeding. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK52691/.
2Indiana WIC. (2015). How does breastmilk stack up? Retrieved from http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/breastfeeding-promotion-and-support-wic.
3National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2014). What are the benefits of breastfeeding? Retrieved from https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/breastfeeding/conditioninfo/Pages/benefits.aspx.
4Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health. (2014). Breastfeeding: Why breastfeeding is important. Retrieved from http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-benefits.html.