2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

324869
Considerations and Analyses of a "Breastfeeding in all Policies" Approach


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Cecilia Barbosa, PhD, MPH, MCP, cBe consulting, Glen Allen, VA
In 2011, less than one in five U.S. infants breastfed exclusively for six months, a practice recommended by the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics and major relevant US health care provider associations. Facilitating exclusive breastfeeding for six months involves the creation of conditions for infants to breastfeed whenever and wherever they are hungry.  Similarly, the breastfeeding mother, whether in the presence or absence of her infant, needs to regularly express her milk to maintain milk production.  Several laws and policies have been enacted or implemented to support the breastfeeding dyad.  The term “health in all policies” (HiAP) is used to recognize the influence of policies in sectors external to health on population health. However, adequately accounting for the needs of the breastfeeding dyad in health policies and HiAP may be missing.  After reviewing the special needs of breastfeeding women and their infants to successfully breastfeed in different settings, the presenter will demonstrate the missed opportunities to include the needs of breastfeeding dyads in public health and other sector funding opportunities, research, guidelines and policies. The author proposes the concept of  “breastfeeding in all policies” to incorporate the needs of breastfeeding mothers and infants in future funding, programming, and policy development.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
List the special needs of breastfeeding women and their infants to successfully breastfeed in different settings. Discuss the meaning and importance of the concept of “breastfeeding in all policies”. Analyze whether policies impacting public health incorporate the needs of breastfeeding women and their infants.

Keyword(s): Breastfeeding, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I completed a doctoral dissertation in 2014 on infant feeding among low-income African-American women. I have worked for over 20 years in public health and maternal and child health in Virginia, including as Executive Director of the Virginia Public Health Association, Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Health, and Director, Planning and Evaluation, Division of Maternal and Child Health, Virginia Department of Health. I am interested in public health policy and breastfeeding.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2064.2: Strategies to support breastfeeding dyads