National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Recommends the Ten Steps as Standard of Care

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has issued a new report, Breastfeeding in the United States: Strategies to Support Families and Achieve National Goals, which analyzes breastfeeding promotion, initiation, and support across the United States and makes recommendations to encourage and support breastfeeding.

One of the report’s key recommendations is to “ensure every U.S. maternity care facility implements the UNICEF/World Health Organization’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative’s Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding as the standard of care.”

Another recommendation calls for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop and implement breastfeeding measures to which hospitals will be held accountable.

These and other recommendations were made in response to the finding that of the 3.5 million mothers who give birth in the U.S. each year, 84% begin breastfeeding but more than half stop before they meet their breastfeeding goals.

“The Ten Steps consist of evidence-based practices that have been shown to increase breastfeeding initiation and duration and change outcomes for babies, families and communities,” said Eileen FitzPatrick, BFUSA’s CEO. “We feel gratified that a body as respected as the National Academies has recommended the broad-scale implementation of the Ten Steps to ensure families receive the support and resources they need to meet their breastfeeding and infant feeding goals.”