HHS BLUEPRINT AND BREASTFEEDING POLICY STATEMENTS

You have heard all about the benefits of breastfeeding. Researchers, health care providers, educators, mothers, fathers, and families are convinced of them. In 2000, the Office on Women's Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published the HHS Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding (PDF file, 439 Kb). This comprehensive publication presents an action plan for breastfeeding based on education, training, awareness, support, and research. It provides recommendations for all of us on how we can help the future of breastfeeding, whether we work in the Federal or local government, in industry or childcare, or in research or education.

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Text last updated June 2004

HHS recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months.
But what if I am unable to breastfeed?

The following publications and organizations provide more information on breastfeeding guidelines and initiatives:

Publications

1. ACOG Issues Guidelines on Breastfeeding (Copyright © ACOG) - This publication provides ACOG's recommendations for breastfeeding, included are the benefits of breastfeeding and a caution on who should not breastfeed.
   
   
2. American Academy of Pediatrics' Policy on Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk (Copyright © AAP) - This publication is the latest policy statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics on the benefits of breastfeeding.
   
   
3. American Public Health Association Endorses Legislation to Promote Breastfeeding (Copyright © APHA) - This news release from the American Public Health Association summarizes its position on legislation to promote breastfeeding. APHA supports legislation that encourages employers to protect and provide support for women who decide to pump milk at work, and explains the importance of educating health professionals in order to achieve these goals.
   
   
4.   Best Practices Initiative: Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative Improves Breastfeeding Initiation Rates - The Assistant Secretary for Health periodically showcases best practices in public health from around the country. This resource sheet outlines the goals, core components and accomplishments of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, and contains a list of contacts who can provide information on the initiative and on the promotion of breastfeeding in a public health setting.
   
   
5. Breaking the barriers to breastfeeding -- Position of ADA (Copyright © ADA) - This publication contains the position of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) regarding breastfeeding. It states that public health and clinical efforts to promote breast-feeding should be sustained and strengthened.
   
   
6. Breastfeeding Position Paper (Copyright © AAFP) - The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) supports breastfeeding whenever possible. This position paper discusses breastfeeding's health effects, special breastfeeding issues, such as maternal illness, infectious diseases, breast surgery, infant illness, nursing beyond infancy and employment issues.
   
   
7.   Breastfeeding Practices: Results from the 2003 National Immunization Survey - This report includes the results of the 2003 National Immunization Survey on breastfeeding. The results provide overall population estimates for the initiation, duration, and exclusivity of breastfeeding, as well as geographically-specific breastfeeding rates.
   
   
8.   Breastfeeding: Health and Economic Issues - This article from the USDA's FoodReview magazine reviews the research indicating that breast milk is the optimal food for babies, explains health benefits, and provides a basic analysis of the economic advantages of breastfeeding.
   
   
9.   CDC's Breastfeeding Resources: Innocenti Declaration on Breastfeeding - This on-line publication outlines the goals and objectives of the Innocenti Declaration, a document produced and adopted by participants at the WHO/UNICEF policymakers' meeting on "Breastfeeding in the 1990s: A Global Initiative," co-sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (AID) and the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA), and held at the Spedale degli Innocenti, Florence, Italy, from July 30 to August 1, 1990.
   
   
10.   CDC's Breastfeeding Resources: National Policies - This on-line resource sheet provides links to information on breastfeeding policies from the Federal Government and major health organizations.
    
    
11. Exclusive Breastfeeding for Six Months (Copyright © WHO) - This publication announces the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation that mothers should breastfeed exclusively for six months. The WHO statement highlights important nutritional advantages and benefits of breastfeeding to both baby and mother, differences between human milk and animal milks, a Baby-Friendly Hospital initiative and the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.
    
    
12. International Lactation Consultant Association's Position on the Issue of HIV and Infant Feeding (Copyright © ILCA) - The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that 1 in 5 babies born to HIV-positive mothers become infected during pregnancy and delivery and 1 in 7 during breastfeeding. This publication denotes ILCA's position on how public health officials can work to address this problem and seek new scientific discoveries to reduce mother to child HIV transmission.
    
    
13. NAPNAP Position Statement on Breastfeeding - This position statement outlines the breastfeeding recommendations of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners (NAPNAP). It emphasizes breastfeeding's advantages for infants and families, the importance of breastfeeding support programs, the goals of such programs, and explains cases where NAPNAP concedes that breastfeeding may be contraindicated. NAPNAP encourages its membership to take six critical steps to improve breastfeeding practices.
    
    
14. Position on Infant Feeding in Emergencies (Copyright © ILCA) - This position statement discusses the practice of breastfeeding during emergencies such as armed conflicts, natural disasters, refugee crisis and other events that can upset food supply, sanitation and breed illness. ILCA affirms that breastfeeding is often the safest and only way to feed infants in such a situation and discusses the ways that humanitarian aid workers can use breastfeeding education to better infant health in these situations.
    
    
15. Position Statement on HIV/AIDS by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (Copyright © ACNM) - This publication contains the American College's of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) recommendations for preventing mother to child HIV transmission.
    
    
16. Position Statement: Breastfeeding (Copyright © ACNM) - The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) promotes breastfeeding as the optimal method of infant feeding. This statement reviews the benefits of breastfeeding for the infant and family, and suggests steps Nurse-Midwives should take in order to improve breastfeeding practices.
    
    
17. Prevention of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency: New Guidelines for Vitamin D Intake (Copyright © AAP) - Rickets in infants attributable to inadequate vitamin D intake and decreased exposure to sunlight continues to be reported in the United States. This report clarifies recommendations for Vitamin D intake, for both breastfed and formula fed infants. These new vitamin D intake guidelines for healthy infants and children are based on the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences.
    
    
18. Role of the Nurse in the Promotion of Breastfeeding (Copyright © AWHONN) - AWHONN supports breastfeeding as the optimal method of infant feeding. This policy statement outlines responsibility of nurses who care for women and infants in the prenatal and postpartum periods to foster an environment supportive of breastfeeding, and discusses steps they can take.
    
    
19.   U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations on Breastfeeding - This publications summarizes the U.S. Preventative Services Task force recommendations for when and how health professionals should counsel patients about breastfeeding.
    
    
20. WHO, UNICEF, UNAIDS Mother-to-Child Policy Guidelines (Copyright © UNAIDS) - This publication is a response to a 1999 report that claimed the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission through exclusive breastfeeding is less likely than previously thought. UNAIDS stands by its original 1997 statement on breastfeeding and HIV.
    
    

Organizations

1. American Academy of Family Physicians
   
   
2. American Academy of Pediatrics
   
   
3. American College of Nurse-Midwives
   
   
4. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Resource Center
   
   
5. American Dietetic Association
   
   
6. Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
   
   
7.   Economic Research Service, USDA
   
   
8. International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA)
   
   
9. National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners, Inc.
   
   
10.   National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC, OPHS, HHS
    
    
11. National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition
    
    
12.   National Women's Health Information Center, OWH, HHS
    
    
13.   Office of the Surgeon General, OS, HHS
    
    
14. UNAIDS
    
    
15. World Health Organization
    
    

= Indicates Federal Resources