Despite health organizations' recommendations that moms exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months, only 13 percent of U.S. moms actually do so. That's a figure that health professionals and advocates (and this mom) wish was higher, and the U.S. Surgeon General today issued a "call to action" (.pdf) to support breastfeeding and remove some of the barriers facing mothers.
CNN.com reports:
[Regina Benjamin, MD] says the number of women breastfeeding in the United States is low compared with other countries, and “we'd like to change that.” Her plan identifies 20 different things families, employers, health care professionals and communities can do “to help encourage women to breastfeed and give them the support they need.”
...
Benjamin’s plan calls for developing programs to educate spouses and grandparents about the benefits of breastfeeding, but also for support groups within communities and for hospitals and health care professionals to provide support and help for moms when they leave the hospital.
Previously: Older or overweight moms may face breastfeeding difficulties, Breastfeeding called a "secret weapon to save billions of dollars", Health package provides support for breastfeeding moms and Free formula may discourage moms from breastfeeding exclusively
Via Healthwatch
Photo by jessicafm
