Medical Provider Breastfeeding Information

What you can find...

Links to external resources are provided as a public service and do not imply endorsement by the Washington State Department of Health.

Medical Association Breastfeeding Position Papers

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

• Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk Policy Statement

American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)

• Family Physicians Supporting Breastfeeding Position Paper
• Hospital use of Infant Formula in Breastfeeding Infants Position Paper
  The AAFP encourages hospital staff to respect the decision of the mother who chooses to breastfeed exclusively by not offering formula, water or pacifiers to an infant unless there is a specific physician order.
  The AAFP discourages distribution of formula or coupons for free or discounted formula in hospital discharge or physician office packets given to mothers who choose to breastfeed exclusively.

• Breastfeeding Policy Statement
  Breastfeeding is the physiological norm for both mothers and their children. Breastmilk offers medical and psychological benefits not available from human milk substitutes. The AAFP recommends that all babies, with rare exceptions, be breastfed and/or receive expressed human milk exclusively for the first six months of life. Breastfeeding should continue with the addition of complementary foods throughout the second half of the first year. Breastfeeding beyond the first year offers considerable benefits to both mother and child, and should continue as long as mutually desired. Family physicians should have the knowledge to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding.

American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG)

• Special Report from ACOG:  Breastfeeding: Maternal and Infant Aspects (PDF, 189.24 KB)

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Other Breastfeeding Position Papers

United States Breastfeeding Committee

• Breastfeeding in the United States-A National Agenda

Lamaze International

• Breastfeeding is Priceless:  No Substitute for Human Milk
  Human milk is unique. Superior nutrients and beneficial substances found in human milk cannot be duplicated. Breastfeeding provides optimum health, nutritional, immunological and developmental benefits to children and protection from postpartum complications and future disease for mothers.

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Benefits of Breastfeeding

United States Breastfeeding Committee

• Benefits of Breastfeeding (PDF, 116.65 KB)
• Economic Benefits of Breastfeeding (PDF, 83.91 KB)

USDA Economic Research Service

• The Economic Benefits of Breastfeeding:  A Review and Analysis

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Formula Use in Hospitals

American Journal of Public Health

• Marketing Infant Formula Through Hospitals:  The Impact of Commercial Hospital Discharge Packs on Breastfeeding

American Public Health Association

• Association Between Perinatal Hospital Breastfeeding Support and Breastfeeding at Two Weeks

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Breastfeeding & Obesity Prevention

United States Breastfeeding Committee

• Statement on the Importance of Breastfeeding/Human Milk Feeding in the Prevention of Obesity (PDF, 63.53 KB)

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Working & Breastfeeding

United States Breastfeeding Committee

• Workplace Breastfeeding Support

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National Breastfeeding Rates & Hospital Practices

Centers for Disease Control

• Breastfeeding Report Card, United States:  Outcome Indicators
  CDC tracks breastfeeding rates related to the Healthy People 2010 breastfeeding objectives. Outcomes data are from the annual CDC National Immunization Survey (NIS), Breastfeeding Questions and provide information on breastfeeding rates by state.
• Breastfeeding Report Card:  Process Indicators
  The CDC National Survey of Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) surveys all labor and delivery service facilities in the United States to monitor maternity care practices associated with successful breastfeeding promotion.

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