Excerpt

This Call to Action describes specific steps people can take to participate in a society-wide approach to support mothers and babies who are breastfeeding. This approach will increase the public health impact of everyone’s efforts, reduce inequities in the quality of health care that mothers and babies receive, and improve the support that families receive in employment and community settings.

Contents

• Message from the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Foreword from the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• The Importance of Breastfeeding
  • Health Effects
  • Psychosocial Effects
  • Economic Effects
  • Environmental Effects
  • Endorsement of Breastfeeding as the Best Nutrition for Infants
  • Federal Policy on Breastfeeding
• Rates of Breastfeeding
  • Disparities in Breastfeeding Practices
• Barriers to Breastfeeding in the United States
  • Lack of Knowledge
  • Social Norms
  • Poor Family and Social Support
  • Embarrassment
  • Lactation Problems
  • Employment and Child Care
  • Barriers Related to Health Services
• Breastfeeding from the Public Health Perspective
  • Mothers and Their Families
  • Communities
  • Health Care
  • Employment
  • Research and Surveillance
  • Public Health Infrastructure
• A Call to Action
  • Mothers and Their Families
  • Communities
  • Health Care
  • Employment
  • Research and Surveillance
  • Public Health Infrastructure
• References
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix 1 Actions to Improve Breastfeeding
• Appendix 2 Excess Health Risks Associated with Not Breastfeeding
• Appendix 3 Development of the Call to Action
• Appendix 4 Abbreviations and Acronyms

Suggested citation:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General; 2011.