Photo courtesy of Furya

Thus, the CDC urges new mothers to initiate breastfeeding early and to feed frequently. Mothers already breastfeeding should continue to do so, even if they become ill. Formula feeding should be avoided or minimized and breastfeeding maximized. In the Health News Digest, USBC Chair Joan Younger Meek, MD, MS, RD, FAAP, FABM, IBCLC, recommends breastfeedng in emergency situations such as a swine flu outbreak:

Research clearly shows that breastfeeding provides a safe, reliable food source, full of disease-fighting cells and antibodies that help protect infants from germs and illnesses. Mothers exposed to influenza produce specific protection for their infants and transmit this through their breast milk. Infant formula does not provide these specific infection fighting properties. Unnecessary formula supplementation should be eliminated so the infant can receive as much benefit as possible from maternal protective antibodies and other immune protective factors.

Key points from the CDC swine flu guidance include:

1. If a mother is ill with swine flu, she should continue breastfeeding and feed the baby more often. If she is too ill to feed at the breast but can pump, expressed breast milk should be fed to the baby. The risk of transmission of the H1N1 virus through breast milk is unknown, but reports of transmission of the regular, seasonal flu through breast milk are rare.

2. If the baby becomes too ill to feed at the breast, he should receive the mother’s expressed breast milk or donated human milk from a non-profit milk bank.

3. Antiviral medication treatment and prophylaxis are compatible with breastfeeding.

4. All usual precautions against virus transmission should be taken, including hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes.

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Among the study findings were that one-fourth of mothers do not place their child on their backs to sleep, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and 34 percent regularly co-slept with their infants. In addition, only 8 percent of mothers experienced six “baby-friendly” hospital practices that encourage and assist mothers with breastfeeding. The more of these practices experienced, the greater the likelihood that mothers would breastfeed for six weeks or longer. Pertaining to food practices, nearly all mothers who fed their infants formula used an iron-fortified product, and more than 20 percent of infants had a food-related health problem, including 6 percent with allergies.

It is not at all surprising to me that mothers are not receiving proper encouragement and assistance in hospitals for breastfeeding. Those findings are consistent with the 2007 CDC National Survey of Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care, which found that 70 percent of birth facilities continue to undermine breastfeeding by marketing formula to new mothers.

Those findings are also consistent with my experience when I prepared to give birth this past July. I researched Baby-Friendly Hospitals and did not find any in my area. When I examined the breastfeeding rates in the hospitals near me, they were disappointingly low. I was glad to have a home birth and a successful start to breastfeeding.

Hopefully the results of the Infant Feeding Practices Study II will inspire additional practice-specific research and lead to greater support for breastfeeding.

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~ The percentage of infants who were ever breastfed increased from 60% among infants who were born in 1993-1994 to 77% among infants who were born in 2005-2006.

~ Breastfeeding rates increased significantly among non-Hispanic black women from 36% in 1993-1994 to 65% in 2005-2006.

~ Breastfeeding rates in 1999-2006 were significantly higher among those with higher income (74%) compared with those who had lower income (57%).

~ Breastfeeding rates among mothers 30 years and older were significantly higher than those of younger mothers. There was no significant change in the rate of breastfeeding at 6 months of age for infants born between 1993 and 2004.

Race and ethnicity factor significantly in breastfeeding initiation rates. “In the 2005-2006 birth cohort group, 65% of non-Hispanic black infants were breastfed compared with 80% of Mexican American and 79% of non-Hispanic white infants.” As reported above, the great news is that the 65% breastfeeding initiation rate for African-Americans has increased from 36% for babies born in 1993-1994.

Of the rise in breastfeeding rates, CDC spokesperson Jeff Lancashire says, “It looks like it is an all-time high” based on CDC surveys since the mid-1980s, according to an Associated Press report.

Where do Americans still need to make the most progress? The Associated Press summarizes the CDC report as indicating that breastfeeding rates were lowest among women who are unmarried, poor, rural, younger than 20, and have a high school education or less.

Click here for the full data brief issued by the CDC/NCHS.

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