For Immediate Release:
July 31, 2007

Contact:
Nanci Gonder
Office of Public Information
573-751-6062

Breastfeeding gives babies the best start in life
August is Missouri Breastfeeding Month

Breastfeeding rates in Missouri are on the rise, but the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is hoping more mothers will choose breastfeeding and breastfeed longer to give their babies the best start in life.

The benefits of breastfeeding are emphasized during Missouri Breastfeeding Month, observed annually in August. In addition, Worldwide Breastfeeding Week is observed Aug. 1-7.

“Breastfeeding contributes to the good health of babies as well as their mothers,” said Sharmini Rogers, chief of the state health department’s Bureau of Genetics and Healthy Childhood. “It is one of the most important decisions a new mother can make.”

Just over 65 percent of babies in Missouri were breastfed at birth in 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s national Healthy People 2010 breastfeeding goal is 75 percent at birth.

Research shows that breastfeeding promotes a baby’s good health from birth and throughout life. Breastfeeding helps facilitate the development of a baby’s brain as well as aid in the growth of the immune system to withstand such ailments as diarrhea, ear infections and infections of the respiratory and urinary tracts.

Breastfeeding also reduces a baby’s risk of environment-borne illnesses, food sensitization and allergies. In addition, babies who are breastfed exclusively for at least six months have a reduced risk of obesity later in life.

Mothers benefit as well. Breastfeeding reduces postpartum bleeding, helps the mother return to her pre-pregnancy weight sooner, boosts her immune system and even reduces a diabetic mother’s need for insulin. Women who breastfeed also have increased protection from breast and ovarian cancers and osteoporosis.

The percentage of Missouri mothers choosing to breastfeed their newborns has steadily increased over the past few years; however, many women are still not breastfeeding their babies. While more mothers are initiating breastfeeding at birth, breastfeeding rates drop by more than half by the time a baby is 6 months old. In Missouri, 32.6 percent of infants were still being breastfed at 6 months of age in 2005. The CDC breastfeeding goal for 6-month-old babies is 50 percent.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants be exclusively breastfed for approximately the first 6 months of life and continue to be breastfed – while food is being introduced – until the baby is at least 1 year old.

“Community support is vital to increase the number of women breastfeeding their babies,” Rogers said. “Family members, friends and health care providers need to encourage women when they decide to breastfeed their babies.”

More information about the benefits of breastfeeding can be found at www.dhss.mo.gov/breastfeeding or by calling 1-800-877-6246.