AAP Urges More Support for Breastfeeding, Cites Growing Evidence of Health Risks of Not Giving Babies Human Milk

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) called for more support in providing breastfeeding education to families, citing growing evidence of the health risks of not breastfeeding. Infants must be solely fed with human milk for the first six months before introducing nutritious foods.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), breastfeeding has remained the norm throughout human history, with few babies not breastfed for various reasons. Over the past century and nearly half, the United States had strived through periods when breastfeeding was not entirely supported by communities, individuals, or the medical field.

Dr. Joan Younger Meek, professor emeritus of clinical sciences at Florida State University College of Medicine, lead author of the reports written by the AAP Section on breastfeeding, said that breast milk is unique in its nutrients and protective impacts and quite remarkable for a child's developing immune system.

Benefits of human milk

Human milk can decrease lower respiratory tract infections, diarrhea, ear infections, and obesity. Infants given breast milk also have a lower risk of unexpected infant death syndrome.

Dr. Jason Jackson, a neonatologist at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, stated that not everyone could nourish their infants using human milk only as some have difficulty producing sufficient milk, have trouble making infants latch correctly, or the parent may not lactate at all.

Meek added that the workplace or societal stigmas make breastfeeding more difficult.

It is the health care provider's responsibility to provide the best evidence-based information while also addressing the individual needs of each family as they deserve support without any judgment, information, and help to guide them in feeding their babies.

Breastfeeding is already a medical norm; thus, community leaders and health care providers need to work together to make breastfeeding a societal norm, per CNN Health.

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Medical and workplace protection

AAP encourages families to get support from medical professionals and protection against workplace barriers, particularly when feeding their infants human milk for at least six months and even up to two years.

Western society treated formula feeding as a luxury as parents didn't need to be at home to feed the baby but could hire someone else to do so.

Such cultural perception became a primary factor in much of the world not supporting families who want to breastfeed.

The first few weeks with an infant are salient for establishing a supply of milk as the act of latching and nursing helps stimulate production. If parents decide to pump, they must have access to comfortable and safe places to do so in the workplace.

AAP sees insurance coverage as another crucial policy area in supporting breastfeeding. Such coverage should extend to pumps and assistance for lactation.

Breastfeeding will change as the baby grows. Newborns frequently want to feed every 2-3 hours. Remember that the mother and the baby are unique, and the decision to breastfeed is up to you, per WebMD.

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