News You Can Use

August is National Breastfeeding Month, but the support you provide breastfeeding patients is important every day. This issue of the digest is full of evergreen resources for you to use and share with your patients.

Your Guide to Breastfeeding The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that most infants breastfeed for at least 12 months, with exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) offers tools and resources for both moms and health professionals, including the updated Your Guide to Breastfeeding. Use it to connect with your patients and start the conversation about breastfeeding. This publication features information that: Explains why breastfeeding is important Provides information on learning to breastfeed Busts breastfeeding myths Answers common questions To order this free resource, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662, or you can visit our website to download a PDF or ePub version.

OWH Breastfeeding Resources

OWH has information and resources to help your patients at every stage of their breastfeeding journey. You can engage with them by talking about the following breastfeeding topics:

• Making the decision to breastfeed
• Learning to breastfeed
• Overcoming potential breastfeeding challenges
• Breastfeeding at home, at work, and in public
• Learning what other moms think about breastfeeding, including why they made the decision, the benefits, and secrets to success — It’s Only Natural

Breastfeeding Rates by State Has your state met the Healthy People 2020 goal for breastfeeding, which is to increase the proportion of infants who are ever breastfed to 81.9%? Twenty-nine states, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have already met or exceeded this goal. Explore the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Breastfeeding Report Card to find out if your state is on the list. World Breastfeeding Trends See how United States breastfeeding rates compare with other nations in this analysis by the World Breastfeeding Trends Institute.

Racial and Geographic Differences in Breastfeeding — United States, 2011–2015      

Differences in breastfeeding rates between black and white infants vary by state, and rates are lower among black infants than white infants in most states. Breastfeeding initiation rates were significantly lower among black infants in 23 of the 34 states reviewed. According to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, to increase the rate of breastfeeding among black infants, interventions are needed to address barriers experienced disproportionately by black mothers, including earlier return to work, inadequate information from providers, and lack of access to professional support.

News and Notes for Health Professionals

OWH has curated relevant policy-focused activities around breastfeeding. The bills and resolutions include:

• Supporting Working Moms Act of 2017
• Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2017
• A resolution designating the first week in August 2017 as "World Breastfeeding Week," and designating August 2017 as "National Breastfeeding Month"
• Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2017 
• Friendly Airports for Mothers Act of 2017

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) offers a systematic review of breastfeeding programs and policies, breastfeeding uptake, and maternal health outcomes in developed countries. For more information, visit https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/topics/breastfeeding/research-protocol.

More Tools and Resources for Patient Engagement

The Printables and Shareables section on the OWH website is now live. Find information on a variety of health topics in a variety of formats, including fact sheets, infographics, guides, videos, and webinars. These tools and resources were designed to be easily downloaded, printed, and shared with patients. Use them to start conversations around important health topics and encourage informed decision-making.

For more updates, follow OWH on Twitter.

Volume 1, Issue 7