The Surgeon General S Call To Action To Support Breastfeeding

(CIT): Surgeon General Regina Benjamin will announce the Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. This new call to action outlines 20 actions to remove some of the obstacles faced by women who want to breastfeed their babies.

This Call to Action describes specific steps people can take to participate in a society-wide approach to support mothers and babies who are breastfeeding. This approach will increase the public health impact of everyone's efforts, reduce inequities in the quality of health care that mothers and babies receive, and improve the support that families receive in employment and community settings.

"For nearly all infants, breastfeeding is the best source of infant nutrition and immunologic protection, and it provides remarkable health benefits to mothers as well. Babies who are breastfed are less likely to become overweight and obese. Many mothers in the United States want to breastfeed, and most try. And yet within only three months after giving birth, more than two-thirds of breastfeeding mothers have already begun using formula. By six months postpartum, more than half of mothers have given up on breastfeeding, and mothers who breastfeed one-yearolds or toddlers are a rarity in our society. October 2010 marked the 10th anniversary of the release of the HHS Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding, in which former Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph. D., reiterated the commitment of previous Surgeons General to support breastfeeding as a public health goal. This was the first comprehensive framework for national action on breastfeeding. It was created through collaboration among representatives from medical, business, women's health, and advocacy groups as well as academic communities. The Blueprint provided specific action steps for the health care system, researchers, employers, and communities to better protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. I have issued this Call to Action because the time has come to set forth the important roles and responsibilities of clinicians, employers, communities, researchers, and government leaders and to urge us all to take on a commitment to enable mothers to meet their personal goals for breastfeeding. Mothers are acutely aware of and devoted to their responsibilities when it comes to feeding their children, but the responsibilities of others must be identified so that all mothers can obtain the information, help, and support they deserve when they breastfeed their infants. Identifying the support systems that are needed to help mothers meet their personal breastfeeding goals will allow them to stop feeling guilty and alone when problems with breastfeeding arise. All too often, mothers who wish to breastfeed encounter daunting challenges in moving through the health care system. Furthermore, there is often an incompatibility between employment and breastfeeding, but with help this is not impossible to overcome. Even so, because the barriers can seem insurmountable at times, many mothers stop breastfeeding. In addition, families are often unable to find the support they need in their communities to make breastfeeding work for them. From a societal perspective, many research questions related to breastfeeding remain unanswered, and for too long, breastfeeding has received insufficient national attention as a public health issue. This Call to Action describes in detail how different people and organizations can contribute to the health of mothers and their children. Rarely are we given the chance to make such a profound and lasting difference in the lives of so many. I am confident that this Call to Action will spark countless imaginative, effective, and mutually supportive endeavors that improve support for breastfeeding mothers and children in our nation."--Page v.

This Call to Action describes specific steps people can take to participate in a society-wide approach to support mothers and babies who are breastfeeding. This approach will increase the public health impact of everyone's efforts, reduce inequities in the quality of health care that mothers and babies receive, and improve the support that families receive in employment and community settings.

Promotes the recognition, treatment, and prevention of conditions of overweight and obesity in the United States.

In the 2001 Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, former Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, warned of the negative effects of the increasing weight of American citizens and outlined a public health response to reverse the trend. The Surgeon General plans to strengthen and expand this blueprint for action created by her predecessor. Although the country has made some strides since 2001, the prevalence of obesity, obesity-related diseases, and premature death remains too high.

Feeding during the first two years of life is very important for the nutrition and growth of an infant. It has a great effect on early morbidity and mortality and long-term effects on health. Breastfeeding has many benefits for both the infant and mother, whereas formula feeding, although associated with disadvantages and problems, can be life-saving for infants who need it. This book examines many aspects of infant feeding and nutrition with chapters covering such topics as the impact of the first 1000 days of nutrition on child health and development, breastfeeding, factors behind the decision to breastfeed or formula feed, and the relationship between breastfeeding and gut microbiota, among others.