Health Care Experts Discuss Need for Increased Breastfeeding

New Jersey falls below the national average in the number of mothers exclusively breastfeeding their infants, according to a 2011 Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study. Health care providers and the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) hope to change that statistic.

CentraState Medical Center and DHSS hosted a breastfeeding roundtable at the hospital’s Star & Barry Tobias Ambulatory Campus in Freehold Township on Wednesday, Oct. 19.

“Often there’s a misinterpretation that the baby is not getting enough volume,” said panel member Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter of Cooper Union Hospital in Camden. “It’s been estimated that only 10 percent need to have supplementation. Yet New Jersey is number one in terms of the most number of breastfed babies being given supplementation.”

The DHSS is working with hospitals in the state to dispel myths and provide support to breastfeeding mothers after they leave the maternity ward. The department awarded 10 New Jersey hospitals, including CentraState, a $10,000 grant from the CDC to support the implementation of the Baby Friendly Hospitals Initiative. Other facilities that received the grant include: AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Pomona, Capital Health in Trenton, Cooper University Hospital, Hunterdon Healthcare System in Flemington, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, and South Jersey Regional Medical Center in Vineland.

The Baby Friendly Hospitals designation recognizes hospitals that promote and support breastfeeding, according to a press release issued by the DHSS. No New Jersey hospital has been awarded the status, something the DHSS hopes to change over the next year through the initiative.

Studies have found babies who are exclusively breastfed have a decreased risk of childhood obesity and a decreased incidence of infectious and chronic diseases, according to the DHSS.

During the roundtable, panelists discussed steps health care providers and members of the public can take to encourage breastfeeding. These include keeping formula out of view in maternity wards, establishing breastfeeding support groups, and employers providing time and space for new mothers to nurse or pump breast milk.

“What we’re really talking about here is a cultural change,” DHSS Commissioner Mary E. O’Dowd said. “The more we can do to make breastfeeding the easy choice, the better. It means educating family support systems. It’s important to start talking about it more publicly.”