Staying Abreast: Weekly Wire - NBCC Rooted in Community & Ready for Continuity Session, & More

The USBC e-Newsletter, Staying Abreast, is published in a weekly news brief format, called the Weekly Wire (WW). Past issues are archived below.

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Please note: Inclusion of an item in this e-newsletter does NOT imply endorsement or support of such item by the United States Breastfeeding Committee, unless specifically noted.

The WW goes on hiatus several times a year: the weeks of the Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Year's holidays, the weeks before the Presidents Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day holidays, and the weeks of the USBC membership meetings.

Staying Abreast: Weekly Wire - NBCC Rooted in Community & Ready for Continuity Session, & More

5/22/2026

Weekly Wire: May 22, 2026

The Staying Abreast: Weekly Wire e-Newsletter is a compendium of news, actions, and resources considered to be of interest or relevance to the breastfeeding field. The newsletter aims to support the USBC mission "To drive collaborative efforts for policy and practices that create a landscape of breastfeeding support across the United States." Included items are submitted for consideration or identified by the USBC e-news team via extensive online review. Whenever possible, the newsletter utilizes language directly from the primary source of an item without additional analysis or edits. In some cases, the USBC offers additional perspectives through the "USBC Insights," media and partner highlights, and the "News & Views" section. Inclusion of an item in the e-newsletter does not imply endorsement or support by the USBC of an item or organization, unless specifically noted.

In this issue:

USBC Updates
- NBCC Session Spotlight: Rooted in Community & Ready for Continuity
- Registration Open Until May 27: Advocacy Day at Capitol Hill
National News
- New HHS Resource Highlights Exclusive Breastfeeding for First Six Months
- Updated Paid Leave Explainers
Upcoming Events
News & Views
Journal Publications

denotes a USBC member organization news item denotes a USBC-affiliated constellation news item

USBC Updates

NBCC Session Spotlight: Rooted in Community & Ready for Continuity

How can communities build stronger, more connected lactation support systems? The "Rooted in Community & Ready for Continuity: Building a Lactation Workforce that Works for Us" interactive session will explore strategies for strengthening the lactation workforce, advancing continuity of care, and creating community-rooted breastfeeding support through partnerships, policy, and peer-led solutions. This session will showcase how coalitions, health systems, governmental public health, and community leaders can align roles to support linguistically grounded, community-reflection, peer-led lactation work.

We are just two weeks away from this year’s National Breastfeeding Conference & Convening in Bethesda, Maryland! We are thrilled to gather with passionate advocates from across the First Food field in Bethesda, Maryland, from June 3-5, 2026. Registration is still open, so reserve your seat today!

Registration Open Until May 27: Advocacy Day at Capitol Hill

Join the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee for a pre-conference event, "Advocacy Day at Capitol Hill," a day of coordinated congressional engagement to advance federal policies that support breastfeeding and strengthen infant nutrition security. Advocacy Day offers participants the opportunity to meet with Members of Congress and congressional staff to elevate breastfeeding as a federal policy priority. Registration for this event will remain open until Wednesday, May 27.

National News

New HHS Resource Highlights Exclusive Breastfeeding for First Six Months

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched Moms.gov, a new resource featuring sections on pregnancy and parenting. The website contains a section about breastfeeding, and the nutrition section includes guidance on exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.

Updated Paid Leave Explainers

New America released updated versions of explainers that compare key aspects of paid leave policies across states and overall data on leave utilization. "Explainer: Paid and Unpaid Leave Policies in the United States" covers the basics of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and paid leave in the U.S. It also includes calculations on the reasons for leave-taking (medical, bonding, family) and estimates of utilization in each state with bar charts, and tables comparing durations of leave and the family members that programs cover under their family caregiving leave provisions. "Explainer: Paid Leave Benefits and Funding in the United States" covers more comparative aspects of programs, including a chart and table comparing the benefit amount and wage replacement rate in each state.