Breastfeeding
Promotion
and Support
"The
overriding guiding principal is to make breastfeeding as easy as
possible for the mother rather than to discourage her from
breastfeeding, whether intentionally or unintentionally."
HHS Blueprint
for Action on Breastfeeding
The health care system has an important role to play in the promotion and
support of breastfeeding. All health care providers who interact with
women or infants should be knowledgeable about the basics of lactation and
how their specialty impacts breastfeeding practices. 
A large proportion of women work outside the home and return to work
shortly after their baby is born. Therefore, the workplace environment
should enable mothers to continue breastfeeding as long as the mother and
baby desire and to integrate breastfeeding with paid work. Work site
programs that support breastfeeding will facilitate the continuation of
breastfeeding after mothers return to work.
All breastfeeding women and their partners need reliable and culturally
appropriate sources of information and social support for breastfeeding.
More broadly, the way others view and discuss breastfeeding influences how
a woman perceives her infant feeding options. Therefore, it is essential
that a woman have access to supportive individuals and that communities
create safe environments where women may breastfeeding comfortably in any
of the places where mothers and children go.
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