Improving breastfeeding awareness through a coordinated school health education initiative

It is well established that prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding provides a plethora of significant benefits. Formula-feeding and low breastfeeding rates add to considerable excess costs, environmental waste and preventable infant deaths each year. Increasing breastfeeding rates is an effective approach to improve child health, reduce infant mortality, decrease chronic illnesses, and diminish rising health care costs. Health promotion programs that help establish breastfeeding as a normative infant feeding practice are needed. Sequential and progressive coordinated school health (CSH) education is one way to accomplish this goal, including incorporating breastfeeding education as part of an elementary level curriculum. The presenters will discuss the development and planned evaluation of an innovative CSH initiative including the implementation of a 3rd/4th grade level curriculum on human lactation and breastfeeding that includes a parenting component, health promotion for school staff, and community involvement. The curriculum is designed to be taught by elementary school teachers and incorporated in to various subjects such as math, science, social studies, and health. This initiative is aimed at improving knowledge, attitudes, future intentions, social acceptance and community-based support for breastfeeding. Researchers plan to implement and evaluate this initiative in urban public schools within areas of New York City that report low breastfeeding rates. Implementation of such an initiative may be an effective and cost efficient intervention to improve breastfeeding exclusivity and duration as well as increase community-based support for breastfeeding.