Resources
Hospitals, Clinics, and Healthcare Providers
9 Steps to Breastfeeding Friendly: Guidelines for Community Health Centers and Outpatient Care Settings
This toolkit from the California WIC Association provides 9 steps to support community health centers and outpatient care settings to successfully implement practices and policies to support breastfeeding.
Baby Friendly USA, INC, Hospital Initiative: Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding
Review the 10 step evidence-based practices that have been shown to increase breastfeeding initiation and duration. Baby Friendly USA is the accediting body and national authority for the breastfeeding friendly hospital initiative.
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and CDC Breastfeeding Curriculum and Resources
To increase the availability and accessibility of medical provider education and training related to breastfeeding and to promote continuity of breastfeeding-related care in their communities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Academy of Pediatrics worked to develop several resources, including a breastfeeding curriculum for residency programs and several guidance documents.
Additional Resources
Additional resources to support hospitals, clinics and healthcare providers improve support for breastfeeding include:
- COVID-19 & Breastfeeding Resources:
- World Health Organization FAQs: Breastfeeding and COVID-19 for Health Care Workers
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: COVID-19 and Pregnancy information
- L.I.F.E. Support for COVID-19: These resources from the Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute, Lactation and Infant Feeding in Emergencies (L.I.F.E.™) Initiative at the Gillings School include webinars on infant feeding during the COVID-19 pandemic and infographics for health care professionals.
- Infants and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies: Resources from the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee.
- Mother’s Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes:
- The Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes provides pasteurized donor human milk to premature and critically ill babies, supports moms who donate milk after loss, and distributes reduced cost or free donor milk to chronically ill middle and low income children.
- National Association of City & County Health Officials Breastfeeding Resources
- Summary Report of the Building Breastfeeding Support Models for Community Health Centers Project: Reducing Breastfeeding Disparities through Continuity of Care (August 2020)
- Breastfeeding in the Community Program Implementation Guide– This community-level guide offers guidance and tools to help local organizations plan, implement and evaluate peer and professional lactation support programs.
- View webinars from the Great Lakes Breastfeeding Webinars series to promote access and equity in breastfeeding.
- Implicit Bias Resource Guide: A Resource to Increase Health Equity and Address Implicit Bias. This resource guide from the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality helps guide providers to recognize and address implicit bias.
- The CDC Guide to Strategies to Support Breastfeeding Mothers and Babies. Strategy 1- Page 5 of this guide provides strategies to support breastfeeding initiation in maternity care practices, including evidence-based strategies, information on the baby-friendly hospital initiative, and action steps.
- Breastfeeding Support and Resources Toolkit from the American Academy of Family Physicians. Practical tools and resources to support patient care strategies including in-office patient education, coding and payment.
- Sister-to-Sister: Let’s Talk from the Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association includes culturally appropriate breastfeeding literature for Black families for WIC offices, doctor’s offices, and community organizations.
- Model Payer Policy: Payer Coverage of Breastfeeding Support and Counseling Services, Pumps and Supplies. This 2014 report from the National Breastfeeding Center provides model policy and coding guidelines for breastfeeding support and counseling services.
- Physician Training and Engagement: Optimizing Breastfeeding and Early Nutrition at the Point of Care, presented by the American Academy of Pediatrics, discusses the Physician Engagement & Training Focused on Breastfeeding Projects and the Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight Projects.