Government Activities

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity
Maternal and Child Nutrition Branch

CDC's Maternal and Child Nutrition Branch is involved in:

Program Design and Evaluation

• Investigating physician attitudes toward breastfeeding by funding researchers at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care to study the attitudes of pediatricians toward breastfeeding as well as their clients' attitudes about breastfeeding to examine how these attitudes are related.
  
  
• Collaborating a randomized clinical trial of physician education intervention CDC is collaborating with researchers at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Wellstart International to design an intervention to improve the support women receive from their pediatricians to continue breastfeeding. Ultimately, the intervention would be tested by randomly assigning clinics to receive the intervention.
  
  
• Conducting a randomized clinical trial of prenatal classes for Dads In collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, this project examines whether prenatal classes on breastfeeding support directed toward fathers can improve the support mothers receive at home and facilitate her choice to initiate and continue breastfeeding.

Monitoring

• Monitoring national objectives on breastfeeding among low-income women Through the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System and the Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance Systems, CDC facilitates the collection, analysis, and interpretation of community, state, and national statistics on breastfeeding among low-income populations.
  
  
• Developing strategies to improve breastfeeding monitoring in the United States. In November 1999, CDC sponsored a workshop to examine national monitoring of breastfeeding. The proceedings of this meeting were published in the Journal of Human Lactation 2000;16(4):283-290. CDC is following up on the recommendations of this meeting.
  
  
• Analyzing trends and differentials in breastfeeding in NHANES surveys CDC is analyzing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys to document differentials in breastfeeding rates in a nationally representative data set and examine how the rates within subgroups have changed over time.
  
  
• Analyzing trends and differentials in breastfeeding in PRAMS surveys State-based surveys in selected states provide representative statistics on the incidence and continuation of breastfeeding. CDC is documenting the results of these surveys over the past decade.

Determinants Research

• Analyzing Baby-Friendly hospital steps and early stopping of breastfeeding Using data from a longitudinal survey of infant feeding practices, CDC is examining the relationship between the experiences in the hospital maternity ward regarding initiation of breastfeeding and the ultimate continuation of breastfeeding among women who intend to breastfeed at least 2 months.
  
  
• Examining health professional attitudes on breastfeeding and continuation of breastfeeding Using data from the same longitudinal survey of infant feeding practices, CDC is examining the association between a woman's prenatal health care provider's and the hospital staff's attitude about breastfeeding and the choice and ability to breastfeed at least 6 weeks.
  
  
• Studying the relationship between maternal overweight and breastfeeding Using data from the Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System and the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System, CDC is examining maternal pre-pregnancy weight and weight gain during pregnancy in relation to breastfeeding initiation and continuation.

Outcomes Research

• Relationship between breastfeeding and development of pediatric overweight Using longitudinal data from Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System, CDC is trying to determine whether not breastfeeding at all or breastfeeding for shorter durations increases the chances that a child will become overweight in the preschool years.
  
  
• Decision analysis of breastfeeding in the presence of environmental toxins CDC is developing economic analysis models to determine if and when a woman might be advised not to breastfeed, if she has had exceptionally high exposure to environmental toxins such as PCBs or dioxin.

Audience-based Research

• Researching public attitudes toward breastfeeding Using data from a 1999 nationwide market survey, CDC is examining how the adult population views the health benefits of breastfeeding, whether they would encourage women to breastfeed, and how they feel about breastfeeding in public.
  
  
• Researching popular myths about breastfeeding Using data from a 2000 nationwide market survey, CDC is examining to what degree the general adult population accepts a series of "popular myths" about breastfeeding that would erroneously lead to a discouragement of breastfeeding.

Policy

• United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) CDC and the Maternal & Child Health Bureau, HRSA, cosponsor and actively participate as liaison members of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee, which is a public-private partnership with representatives from governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations and health professional associations devoted to the protection, promotion, and support of breastfeeding.
  
  
• Web-based breastfeeding promotion and support compendium CDC has developed and continues to update its breastfeeding web site (http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding), documenting nationwide programs and policies that promote and support breastfeeding.
  
  
• World Health Organization (WHO) growth curve development CDC is an active collaborator in developing the WHO growth curves, which will be based on breastfed children.
  
  
  

Contact information

Address:
Chief, Maternal and Child Nutrition Branch
Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity
NCCDPHP/CDC
Mail Stop K-25
4770 Buford Highway, NE
Atlanta, GA 30341-3724

Telephone: (770) 488-5702
E-mail: http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/contactus.htm
or ccdinfo@cdc.gov
Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/ 

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This page last updated March 28, 2003