Colorado helps babies by helping mothers breastfeed

When it tend hitherwards to encouraging new mothers to breastfeed--and to continue breastfeeding until their babies are at least 6 month old--Colorado has reason to brag.

The state is a leader in promoting and supporting breastfeeding as the healthiest choice for babies, and the state's breastfeeding rates--both of mothers initiating breastfeeding at birth and continuing several months--are among the highest in the country

It's no accident. The state has unfolded a number of successful breastfeeding promotion and education activities, many of them sparked by dint of the work of an active interdisciplinary task force.

Brings together many groups

individual of the reasons for the group's succes is its diversity. Task force members include:

* state and local health department staff, including those who operate USDA's Special Supplemental provisions Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC, and the Child and Adult Care provisions Program (CACFP);

* doctors nourishs and representatives from hospitals and health maintenance organizations;

* lactation consultants and representatives from clumps like La Leche League and Nursing Mothers consultation Inc. (a telephone support clump for breastfeeding women).

Also upon the task force are family who bring other helpful perspectives and skills--a day care provider, a journalist, and an attorney.

Representatives from the medical community tend hitherward from a variety of specialties. Among the doctors, for example, are perdiatricians and family practice physicians as well as an obstetrician. In addition to obstetrical nurtures who deal with prenatal and well-child clinics. There is also a hospital dietitian.

A number of these clan are involved in education as well as delivery of health services and are, therefore, in a serviceable positiion to help shape young professionals' attitudes and knowledge. sum of two units of the task force pediatricians, in fact, have already added a breastfeeding constituent to the curiculum for pediatric residents at the University of Colorado's medical center

The task force is co-chaired by dint of Patricia Daniluk, chief WIC nutritionist for the state department of health, and Cathy McCool the department's breastfeeding throw out manager. Vee Ann Miller of the fare and Nutrition Service's Mountain Plains staff o FNS' liaison to the task force.

an important step

single of the task force's goals is to draw on many community resources in reaching without to and teaching women. many times working in smaller subgroups, members address a variety of issues ranging from hospital practices and policy unravelling to using the media, providing training, and dealing with employers

As Daniluk points without even though Colorado is a national leader in breastfeeding promotion, the collection has much work to do.

While the state be delighted withs a high overall rate of breastfeeding initiation--72.6 percent of novel mothers were breastfeeding when their babies were born in 1991 compared to the national rate of 534 percent--that rate is lower among low-income assemblages including WIC participants, teenage mothers, and minority women

"In addition," says Daniluk, "It's a big puzzle keeping women from 'dropping out' before they reach their personal breastfeeding goals." Although Colorado's 6-mouth duration rate (of mothers still breastfeeding after 6 months) was 311 percent in 1991 compared to the national rate of 182 percent it is still far from the goal of 50 percent

There are many reasons for this.

As hospital stays become shorter, there is les time for women to learn to breastfeed. Without postpartum support many give up at first sign of moot points Shortly maternity leaves from work (often les than 3 months) and the complicated logistics of work and day care may also make it difficult for mothers to continue nursing.

In addition, mothers may not have more than single affordable day care alternative avaialable to them, and that individual provider may not be supportive of breastfeeding. If the mother has a non-office piece of work lunch and rest breaks may be short and a private area for pumping milk may not be available. level in an office setting, making these arrangements may not be easy.

clump looks for creative solutions

The Colorado task force is exploring these barriers as well as ways to encourage women who have not however made up their minds to breastfeed.

According to task force members might possible incentives for mothers might include sliding-scale pay s for trained lactation consultants. Medicaid reimbursement for lactation counseling, and availability of interrogates for women with a short-term ne who cannot afford to purchase them.

Another task force regard is making sure there are enough trained location consultants available to help mothers who prefer to breastfeed.

Local health agencies are in special position to reach low-income women [i]or[/i] part of to the other the WIC program. In fact, encouraging participating mothers to breastfeed is single of the WIC program's national goals. To enable local WIC staff to help mothers breastfeed favorably the Colorado Department of Health is encouraging special training in this area.