Breastfeeding: a clinical imperative

Hospital breastfeeding initiation rates (75%) show that most mothers in the United States want to breastfeed and are trying to do so. Even from the very start, however, mothers may not be getting the breastfeeding support they need. Low breastfeeding rates at 3, 6, and 12 months illustrate that women face multiple additional barriers to maintaining breastfeeding. What can we do to help more mothers be more successful? As healthcare providers, we need to be believers that breastfeeding is worth the effort. Perhaps most important for us is to realize that human milk is not simply a food but rather a complex, human infant support system. We can then articulate to families the importance of breastfeeding as a clinical imperative, a preventer of acute and chronic illness and disease. It will take integration, normalization, and mainstreaming of breastfeeding into our culture for acceptance and growth of the practice. Once we assist families in making educated decisions about breastfeeding, we need to provide supportive environments in our hospitals, medical practices, workplaces, and communities that implement the best ways to support breastfeeding. Breast milk is worth the effort, and the time has come to be ardent supporters of mothers and infants and their breastfeeding intentions.