CA Hospital Breastfeeding Rates 2006

This report uses existing data to compare California hospitals in terms of their numbers of new moms who exclusively breastfeed while in the hospital. The report was produced by the University of California at Davis Human Lactation Center (UCD HLC) and sponsored by the California WIC Association (CWA), with funding from the Vitamin Cases Consumer Settlement Fund. (See information for 2007.)

• PRESS RELEASE
• POLICY BRIEF - contains statewide trends, ranks counties, and lists the fifteen highest- and lowest-ranking hospitals in the state. It also examines the link between hospital policies and practices and exclusive breastfeeding rates.
• COUNTY FACT SHEETS - display the same rates by individual hospitals, and compare hospitals within counties. NOTE: The following counties had too few births with known types of feeding to report: Alpine, Calaveras, Colusa, Glenn, Mariposa, Sierra, Trinity, Yuba. (See information for 2007.)

Resources:

• DHS Letter on Hospital Breastfeeding Policies
• Providing Breastfeeding Support: Model Hospital Policy Recommendations Developed for and provided to CA hospitals by the CA Dept. of Health Services.
• Toolkit for the Model Hospital Policy Recommendations Developed for and provided to CA hospitals by the CA Dept. of Health Services. Scroll to the list of the model policies. Click on each policy to read about implementation guidelines. Provides many useful references for policy recommendations.
• Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BHFI) Information on this international designation and the US program. Read about the 10 Steps to Becoming Baby Friendly. Check out the listing of Baby Friendly Hospitals in CA.

CWA Reports:

• Breastfeeding - The First Defense Against Obesity
• Overcoming Barriers to Breastfeeding in Low-Income Women
• Preventing Overweight in Children from Birth to Five Years Old: Overview for Decision Makers, February 2006
• Starting Earlier: What We Know About Preventing Overweight in Children from Birth to Five Years Old, February 2006
• Policy Recommendations on Improving Early Childhood Nutrition: California Working Families Policy Summit 2005
• Transitioning to Obesity Prevention: Harnessing WIC'S Success to Promote Healthy Eating and Active Living

Contacts:

• Technical report questions: Jane Heinig, UC Davis Human Lactation Center, 530-752-8681 or mjheinig@ucdavis.edu
• Hospital Recommendations: Robbie Gonzalez-Dow, CWA, 831-783-1244 or 831-521-7208 or robbie@actioncouncil.org