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Subscribe to RSSNew moms don't get the breast-feeding support they need from hospitals, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control.
Less than 4 percent of U.S. hospitals do everything they should to help mothers breast-feed, and only 14 percent of hospitals have a written, model breast-feeding policy.
Only one-third of hospitals practice rooming in, where mothers and babies stay together so that they have frequent chances to breast-feed. And nearly 80 percent of hospitals give formula to healthy breast-feeding infants when it’s not medically necessary, the report finds.
Hospitals should do better, health officials say -- especially given the health benefits of breast-feeding.
“Those first few hours and days that a mom and her baby spend learning to breast-feed are critical," said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "Hospitals need to better support breast-feeding, as this is one of the most important things a mother can do for her newborn. Breast-feeding helps babies grow up healthy and reduces health care costs.”
The report data comes from a national survey of maternity care that the CDC conducts every two years.
So what does it take for hospitals to be deemed “baby-friendly” and follow practices that increase the rates of breast-feeding? The CDC has a list of steps that include:
- Encouraging mothers to room in, staying with their baby 24 hours a day.
- Not giving healthy, breast-feeding infants any other food or drink, unless there’s a medical need for it.
- Connecting moms with support groups and other resources, especially the week after they leave the hospital.
- Stopping the distribution of formula samples and give-aways to breast-feeding mothers.
Moms, if you delivered a baby in a hospital, chances are this news isn’t surprising. What’s the worst advice you got about breast-feeding in the hospital? Did you have to fend off nurses offering formula? Or were you fortunate to be in a facility where either a friendly nurse or lactation consultant helped you with breast-feeding?
Related story: Is breast-feeding on demand a crime? Spanish case sparks outrage
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i think if you want to breast feed you should do it in private. i have kids too and i breast fed both til they 6 months old but i never did it in public. when i went out i took bottles. if you want your babies just to have your milk buy a breast pump and put the milk in the bottles. i wouldn't want to walk up on a woman breast feeding that's an infringement on my rights. my right not to see your damn breast.