Trends in Hospital Breastfeeding Law and Policy

In recent years there have been a number of changes to breastfeeding laws and regulations, especially related to breastfeeding in the workplace and public spaces. These laws are important for women who have already initiated breastfeeding, but laws and policies affecting breastfeeding in the post-birth hospital setting aim to increase the number of women who initiate breastfeeding in the first place. According to the CDC's 2011 Breastfeeding Report Card, only 74.6 percent of infants were ever breastfed and only 14.8 percent of infants were breastfed exclusively through 6 months of age. As a part of Healthy People 2020, the national goal is to increase these proportions to 81.9 percent and 25.5 percent, respectively, by 2020. Only two states, California and Vermont, have met both Healthy People 2020 objectives. This presentation will analyze a growing trend in law and policy aimed at encouraging the initiation of breastfeeding by new mothers through changes in hospital policy, including the California Hospital Infant Feeding Act, New York's Breastfeeding Mothers Bill of Rights and Rhode Island's elimination of in-hospital infant formula giveaways.