You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the basic things you need in a hospital to support breastfeeding. For years, UNICEF and the World Health Organization have promoted the "10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding," proven strategies for increasing breastfeeding rates and getting breastfeeding off to the best start. You're most likely to find them at hospitals which are certified "Baby Friendly."
The 10 steps are common sense things like keeping mothers and babies together after birth, having a breastfeeding policy, having trained staff to help mothers, helping mothers initiate breastfeeding within an hour after birth, not giving anything but breastmilk unless medically indicated, and not giving pacifiers or bottles.
But new data from the CDC shows that many hospitals aren't doing these basic things. The
study analyzed responses from
nearly 2,700 birth facilities. WebMD reports:
For instance, 24% of the facilities reported routinely giving other drinks (such as sugar water) to more than half of healthy, full-term newborns. And 70% of the facilities reported sending breastfeeding moms home with samples of infant formula. Those practices aren't supportive of breastfeeding, notes the CDC.
The CDC noted some significant regional differences in the practices of hospitals:
"The study found that hospitals and birth centers in many southern states scored lower in practices supportive of breastfeeding compared to other regions of the nation... Seven southern states Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia also had the lowest percentages (less than 30 percent) of children who were breastfed for 6 months, according to the 2006 National Immunization Survey.
Western and New England states generally had higher scores compared to other parts of the country. Vermont and New Hampshire tied for the highest overall maternity practice scores (81), followed by Maine (77) and Oregon (74). In addition, Oregon, Maine and Vermont report that more than 75 percent of children were ever breastfed."
Above is a map showing how each state did, and you can get a more detailed chart of how each state scored. And here's a great handout (pdf) called "A Mother's Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding - Even if your hospital isn't Baby Friendly."
So, how did your hospital do?
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