Early Childhood

Information for Professionals Who Work with Children: Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding* is the natural and healthier way for mothers to feed their babies.

"Infant nutrition should be considered a public health issue and not only a lifestyle choice"--American Academy of Pediatrics

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Breastfeeding Curriculum for Nursing Students

Golden Start Breastfeeding Education developed this curriculum for nursing students. It is designed to be used from beginning to end. For a CD copy of the curriculum, available technical assistance in your area, or more information, email us.

Intro and Objective 1 (PPTX 455MB/ 60pgs): Why study lactation in the first place?
Objectives 2, 3, 4, and 5 (PPTX 1.67MB/ 49pgs): Advantages; composition; risks of not breastfeeding; contraindications
Objectives 6 and 7 (PPTX 996KB/ 29pgs) : Social, institutional, and community benefits; anatomy and physiology
Objectives 8, 9, and 10 (PPTX 3.45MB/ 33pgs): Nurses’ role; positions; history and trends
Objectives 11 and 12 (PPTX 580KB/24pgs): Best practices; Breastfeeding Report, Card, Healthy People, Surgeon General’s Call to Action
Objectives 13, 14, 15, and 16 (PPTX 665KB/37pgs): Difficulties, nursing diagnoses case studies, finding information on the internet, and role playing scenarios
Objectives 17, 18, and 19 (PPTX 2.14MB/ 27pgs): Providing support in a variety of settings; impact of public health; evaluation of own community – discuss ways to support breastfeeding where student works and lives
References (PDF 247KB/ 31pgs)

New mothers need to be encouraged to exclusively breastfeed, and clinicians and other professionals who work with new mothers often have a big role to play in facilitating, reinforcing and normalizing the behavior.

Breastfed babies are at a lower risk for many health problems, such as ear and respiratory infections, diarrhea, asthma and obesity, and mothers who breastfeed are less likely to develop diabetes or breast or ovarian cancer (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website, www.womenshealth.gov). For the health of babies and mothers, health experts recommend women exclusively breastfeed their babies for at least six months, and continue breastfeeding through one year or longer. According to data collected from the National Immunization Survey, 80 percent of babies born in 2006 in Minnesota were breastfed, 52 percent were breastfed six months or more (15 percent exclusively), and 25 percent were breastfed 12 months or more.

*Breastfeeding refers to feeding babies their mothers’ milk, whether directly from the breast or by means of a bottle.

Resources

WIC breastfeeding resources

MDH’s Women, Infants and Children's (WIC) program has information, resources and support for breastfeeding for all mothers.

Breastfeeding Report

(PDF 907KB/70pgs) In 2009-10, in order to learn more about how to promote a supportive environment for breastfeeding, the MDH Physical Activity and Nutrition Unit and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program partnered with Wilder Research to assess supports for and challenges of breastfeeding infants, particularly in relation to their experiences with health care settings, worksites and social influences.

Supporting a Healthier Generation from the Start

(PDF: 370KB/2 pgs) Fact sheet for clinicians