Following posts like this one from last week, it's encouraging to see that breastfeeding initiation rates have continued to rise in recent years. But, as Science & Sensibility contributor Edith Kernerman, IBCLC, pointed out: the rates of breastfeeding exclusivity at the six-month-postpartum mark (as recommended by the World Health Organization) are still less than impressive (world-wide, not just in the U.S.). Thankfully, progress is being made to change these rates for the better. Beyond local activism and individual interactions between lactation support specialists & consultants and the women they support, leadership 'from the top down' is emerging.

If you haven't heard of the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), let me bring you up to speed: This non-profit organization is made up of forty voting member organizations (Lamaze, being one of them) and evolved out of the 1990 UNICEF Innocenti Declaration which, among other things, calls for:

...every nation to establish a multisectoral national breastfeeding committee comprised of representatives from relevant government departments, non-governmental organizations, and health professional associations to coordinate national breastfeeding initiatives.

In the last few years, the USBC has accomplished numerous impressive feats - including communications and collaborations with federal law makers, White House staff members, CDC entities, FDA departments, popular media outlets and more. Go here to see the complete overview. Most importantly, go here to view USBC's Breastfeeding Vision for the Future in which barriers to breastfeeding success are addressed and goals for improved support of mother-baby breastfeeding dyads are delineated. To show your support for the work USBC is doing on behalf of ALL nursing mothers - current and yet to come - sign the petition which seeks support from all sectors of U.S. society for improving each and every factor that influences a woman's ability to breastfeed her child(ren) for the duration that is mutually beneficial for mom and baby.

***Our government is taking note: keep your eyes and ears pealed for an important announcement from the Surgeon General on this very same topic... this coming Thursday, January 20! ***

UPDATE: Go here tomorrow (Thursday) at 10:00EST to see the live webcast of the Surgeon General's call to action to support breastfeeding!

Published: January 17, 2011

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