The United States Breastfeeding Committee has many recent activities and accomplishments to celebrate, guided by our five-year strategic plan! 2011 was an exciting and productive year for our work together:

Report to the Membership - August 2011
Report to the Membership - January 2011

Goal A Activities: Ensure that quality breastfeeding services are an essential component of health care for all families.

• Partnered with The Joint Commission on development of the Speak Up™ campaign, What You Need to Know About Breastfeeding.
• Continued promotion of the toolkit on Implementing The Joint Commission Core Measure on Exclusive Breast Milk Feeding; conducting ongoing advocacy regarding additional measures and standards.
• Soliciting endorsements of the Core Competencies in Breastfeeding Care & Services for All Health Professionals.

Goal B Activities: Reduce marketing that undermines optimal breastfeeding.

• Published Statement on Marketing of Human Milk Substitutes.
• Conducting a survey to review how the breastfeeding community interacts with the infant feeding industry.
• Planning to convene a national discussion of organization leaders in 2012, to review the survey results and discuss recommendations to guide consideration of these relationships.
• Planning a campaign to build public and Congressional support for reducing inappropriate marketing, including the distribution of formula marketing materials through health care professionals and the health system.

Goal C Activities: Ensure that women and their families in the workforce are supported in optimal breastfeeding.

• Published Statement on Lactation Accommodations in the Workplace.
• Partnering on implementation and promotion of the new "Break Time for Nursing Mothers" law:
  • Hosted "Listening Sessions" with Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division;
  • Submitted comments to the Dept. of Labor Request for Information;
  • Planning outreach to mothers online through websites, blogs, and social media.
• Advocating for expansion of the "Break Time for Nursing Mothers" provision through the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2011.
• Partnering to advocate for paid family leave.

Goal D Activities: Ensure that USBC is a sustainable and effective organization, funded, structured, and aligned to do its work.

Maintain a strong partnership with, and provide support for, a network of state, territory, and tribal breastfeeding coalitions.

• Hosted breastfeeding workshop at the Association of State & Territorial Public Health Nutrition Directors Annual Meeting.
• Continue to host bi-annual conference and bi-monthly teleconferences/webinars.
• Continue to maintain online directory of state breastfeeding coalitions, national and regional communications lists, and framework for coalitions' regional representatives to USBC.

Serve as an expert voice and a clearinghouse of breastfeeding information.

• Declared August to be National Breastfeeding Month.
• Served as an expert advisor to The Office of the Surgeon General in preparation for the launch of The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding; redesigned USBC member reports to focus on the 20 Actions.
• Invited women to share their stories about how they were supported to breastfeed; created the Landscape of Breastfeeding Support photo archive.
• Published Statement on Infant/Young Child Feeding in Emergencies.
• Send representatives to stakeholders meetings and summits and served on various groups and expert panels, including the Planning and Awards Advisory Committees for CDC's Weight of the Nation conference, OWH expert panels addressing breastfeeding support in hospitals and universities/schools, HRSA Stakeholders Meeting on Perinatal Health, and the new Coalition on Children and Disasters.

Coordinate advocacy to ensure that federal legislation and policy protects, promotes, and supports breastfeeding.

• Advocated for reversal of IRS ruling on breast pumps.
• Coordinated a joint letter requesting federal appropriations for breastfeeding support. Dozens of advocates attended a training webinar and have used the USBC toolkit for advocacy visits.
• With the American Dietetic Association, co-hosted a Congressional Briefing on the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2011, titled Improving the Health of Families: How Employers and the Economy Benefit.
• Continuing to advocate for breastfeeding protection, promotion, and support on many fronts, submitting letters and public comments on a wide range of issues, including on infant formula labeling to FDA, the NIH National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) visioning process, WIC local agency recognition of exemplary breastfeeding support practices, adoption of the IOM recommendations for women's preventive health services, and more.

Read Prior Year Activities & Accomplishments