APHA Supports the Health and Human Services Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding

[摘要]

The American Public Health Association,

By supporting the Health and Human Services Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding, the Association updates and reaffirms those actions.

Whereas the American Public Health Association has a history of activities which have contributed to the development of a national nutrition policy,¹ and supported the promotion and protection of breastfeeding;^2–4 and a record of activities encouraging the reduction of the inappropriate marketing and use of breast milk substitutes;^5,6

Appreciating the consistent work done by the Office of the Surgeon General from 1984 to the present to involve all the stakeholders in the area of maternal and child health in evaluating current knowledge and developing a national approach to the promotion and protection of breastfeeding;^7–10 and in the development of the comprehensive Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding which “establishes a comprehensive breastfeeding policy for the nation based on education, training, awareness, support and research”;⁷ and

Noting that breast milk is recognized by health professionals as the most appropriate food for almost all human infants;^{11–13,14,2,3} with the exception in the United States of infants of mothers with known conditions such as HIV infection, illicit drug use; or who use some pharmaceutical agents or radioactive, and chemotherapeutic agents as well as some infants with inborn errors of metabolism;⁷ and

Acknowledging that for a variety of social, economic, educational, institutional and political reasons breastfeeding rates in the U.S. do not currently approach the Healthy People 2000 or 2010 Goals developed by the Department of Health and Human Services of 75% of all women breastfeeding in the early postpartum period, 50% of all women breastfeeding at 6 months postpartum and 25% of all women breastfeeding at one year;^15,16,7 and

Recognizing the significant economic as well as health-related benefits to increasing breastfeeding rates, which are not currently being realized by a significant proportion of the nation’s children and mothers, particularly those in low income, underserved populations and tribal communities where for instance according to the 1998 Health People 2010 baseline statistics, 45% of African American women breastfed in the early postpartum period as compared with 66% of Hispanic women and 68% of White women, and 9% of African American women breastfeeding at one year as compared to 16% of all women;^7,17

Therefore, APHA strongly supports the HHS Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding and will:

1. Reaffirm the commitments made by the Association in the Resolutions 7403, 7426, 7922, 8126 and 8226 and Position Paper 8022,1–6
2. Call upon the state governments to work with health care providers, institutions and reimbursing agencies to assure that all women have access to breastfeeding support before and after birth.
3. Call upon the media to portray breastfeeding as normal, desirable, and achievable for women of all cultures and socio-economic levels.
4. Support the specific recommendations made by the Surgeon General in the HHS Blueprint for Action relating to the health care system, the workplace, childcare facilities, public education and support, and the marketing of breast milk substitutes.
5. Encourage and recommend funding to determine that specific recommendations regarding contraindications to breastfeeding, such as maternal HIV infection, are based on scientific evidence.

References

1. American Public Health Resolution No. 7426: National Nutrition Policy (1974).
2. APHA Public Policy Statements, 1948 to Present, Cumulative. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, current volume.
3. American Public Health Association Position Paper No. 8022: Infant Feeding In the United States (1980). APHA Public Policy Statements, 1948 to Present, Cumulative. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, current volume.
4. American Public Health Association Resolution No. 8226: Breast Feeding (1982). APHA Public Policy Statements, 1948 to Present, Cumulative. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, current volume.
5. American Public Health Resolution No. 7403: Breast Feeding (1974). APHA Public Policy Statements, 1948 to Present, Cumulative. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, current volume.
6. American Public Health Association Resolution No. 7922: Infant Feeding Advertising (1979). APHA Public Policy Statements, 1948 to Present, Cumulative. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, current volume.
7. American Public Health Association Resolution No. 8126: Nestle Boycott (1981). APHA Public Policy Statements, 1948 to Present, Cumulative. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, current volume.
8. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HHS Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding, Washington, DC. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health, 2000.
9. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Report of the Surgeon General’s Workshop on Breastfeeding & Human Lactation, Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public health Service, Health Resources and Services Administration, 1984, DHHS pub. No. HRS-D-MC 84-2.
10. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Follow up Report: The Surgeon General’s Workshop on Breastfeeding & Human Lactation, Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public health Service, Health Resources and Services Administration, 1985, DHHS pub. No. HRS-D-MC 85-2.
11. Spisak S, Gross S. Second Follow Up Report: The Surgeon General’s workshop on Breast-feeding and Human Lactation. Washington, DC. National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health, 1991.
12. American Academy of Pediatrics. Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk. Pediatrics. 1997;100(6):1035-1039
13. Position of the American Dietetic Association: Promotion of Breast-feeding. J Am Diet Assoc. 1997;97(6): 662-665
14. Lawrence RA, Lawrence RM, (1999). Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession, 5th Edition. Mosby, Inc. St. Lawrence, MO.
15. Neville MC, Neville MR, (1983.) Lactation: physiology, nutrition and breastfeeding. Plenum Press, NY, NY.
16. U.S. DHHS. Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, 1990. DHHS pub. No. PHS 91-50212
17. U.S. DHHS. Healthy People 2010: with Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. 2 vol. U.S. Government Printing Office, November 2000.
18. Ball TM, Wright AL. Health Care Cost of Formula-feeding in the First Year of Life. Pediatrics. 1999; 103:870-876

Back to Top

[发布日期] 2001-01-01

[学科分类] 医学（综合）