The Florida Department Of Health Promotes Awareness During World Breastfeeding Week
TALLAHASSEE—The Florida Department of Health (DOH) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) celebrate August 1-7 as World Breastfeeding Week 2010. This year’s theme—Breastfeeding: Just 10 Steps! The Baby-Friendly Way—focuses on simple steps that hospitals, health care providers, workplaces, the community, and families can take to help mothers achieve their breastfeeding goals.
The World Breastfeeding Week “Baby-Friendly” theme refers to the international Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, which includes 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. Research shows that these steps directly increase breastfeeding duration and exclusivity rates among breastfeeding mothers. The steps include establishing evidence-based policies, providing training for staff, helping mothers hold their babies skin-to-skin immediately after birth, avoiding supplements unless medically indicated, avoiding bottle nipples and pacifiers, eliminating free distribution of infant formula samples, and connecting mothers to support in the community once they are discharged.
“The Department encourages Florida hospitals to work toward becoming officially Baby-Friendly,” said State Surgeon General Ana M. Viamonte Ros, M.D., M.P.H. “Getting mothers and babies off to a good start with breastfeeding is crucial to improving Florida’s breastfeeding rates.”
The World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical organizations recommend babies exclusively breastfeed for at least the first six months of life, and continue breastfeeding for at least a year or two and beyond to gain the maximum health advantages. These health outcomes also directly link to health care costs. It has been estimated that more than $13 billion could be saved annually in the United States if women breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of a baby’s life.
The Florida WIC Program actively promotes and supports breastfeeding. Local WIC agencies offer resources and staff to help breastfeeding mothers. Many WIC agencies have International Board Certified Lactation Consultants with specialized knowledge of breastfeeding. WIC agencies across the state are establishing “Loving Support Breastfeeding Peer Counseling” programs. The trained peer counselors are chosen from the same socio, economic, and ethnic groups as WIC clients and have successfully breastfed their own babies.
The mission of DOH is to promote, protect and improve the health of all people in Florida. For more information about the Florida WIC program, call 1-800-342-4556 or visit www.FloridaWIC.org. For more information about breastfeeding, visit www.llli.org, www.flbreastfeeding.org, or www.4woman.gov/breastfeeding.
