Also available as PDF (figures and tables appear in the PDF).
Breastfeeding is unique to a woman, and as many women’s issues, has been relegated to the unrecognized and largely unsupported “women’s work” by our United States health care system and society. Breastfeeding is an important indicator and promoter of health status for both mother and child. Breastfeeding’s potency as a health indicator and protector of health makes it deserving of accurate and comprehensive assessment, documentation, and monitoring. Increasing breastfeeding continuation rates for greater dose-related benefits is part of our national Healthy People 2030 goals, but we are underperforming and haphazard in breastfeeding data assessment and documentation needed to guide our actions in accordance with our goals. A
Keywords: Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding
These surveys are small, retrospective, use different definitions of breastfeeding and, with regards to WIC, easily manipulated because they are attached to a benefits package. These breastfeeding assessment tools do not address the need for real time, accurate, comprehensive and continuing breastfeeding statistics that are needed to document and monitor the breastfeeding status of all American mothers and babies!
Breastfeeding is too important a public health measure to not have real time, accurate, comprehensive, and ongoing data on it. Therefore, it is recommended for breastfeeding data to be assessed on every baby at every well-baby medical appointment, then documented on the medical chart as a good solution to improve breastfeeding data collection and documentation.
Since breastfeeding is a “Mom made” immunization and since man with an accurate, real-time, comprehensive assessment and documentation of breastfeeding statistics.11
• To accurately and comprehensively measure progress towards the national and state breastfeeding goals.
• To plan and review programs/policies aimed at increasing breastfeeding rates and duration.
• To increase breastfeeding support resources where needed. • To document the need for more Lactation Professionals and funding to support their training.
• To guide insurance companies in recognizing the need for reimbursement for Lactation services.
• To document the work mothers are doing to breastfeed their babies.
• To support the need, expected cost savings and wisdom for paid family leave in USA.
Women Health Open J. 2025; 11(1): 7-9.
• To identify breastfeeding problems earlier and facilitate early referrals to a Lactation Professional if needed before an earlier than intended weaning occurs.
• To increase attention to the importance and clinical significance of breastfeeding--the question that gets asked get attention by both client and health care provider!
To investigate breastfeeding as it relates to health and illness issues in maternal/infant health and facilitate breastfeeding research.