Breastfeeding

Resource Program

How to feed a new baby is one of the very first choices new parents make. Why breastfeed? Breast milk provides complete nutrition for the infant, sustaining optimal hydration, nutrition and growth in the first six months of life. Breastfeeding provides a foundation for a child reaching optimal development and well being. Breastfed children are significantly healthier than their formula-fed counterparts because breast milk reduces the risk of infectious and chronic diseases and improves cognitive and emotional functioning. Breastfeeding initiation rates in the United States have reached an all-time high with varying degrees of regional, racial and ethnic differences. Yet, regardless of the benefits of breastfeeding to children, families and society, the length of time a mother breastfeeds her infant is often drastically shortened because of the numerous barriers that are a part of the pressures of modern life. The need for most mothers to work and most often in workplaces where breastfeeding is not supported, a lack of support for breastfeeding in childcare settings, and, most importantly, lack of public acknowledgement and support for breastfeeding as the normal and natural way to feed a baby commonly add to the difficulties for the working mother to adopt a breastfeeding regimen and stick to it.

The UCLA Breastfeeding Resource Program was established in 1996 and supports CHCFC's mission of fostering interdisciplinary, collaborative research and service programs focusing on children and family health services and systems, and providing technical assistance to policymakers, community-based health and related service organizations and researchers. The primary goal of the Breastfeeding Resource Program is to increase the numbers of U.S. women who breastfeed their children and to extend the duration of breastfeeding in order to maximize the health, developmental and economic benefits important for all family members and society at large.

Projects of the UCLA Breastfeeding Resource Program are designed to help reach this goal. One such project – the National Breastfeeding Policy Conference held in Washington, D.C in November 1998 developed a national policy agenda and disseminated the reports on national priorities that provided the foundation for the Surgeon General's Blueprint for Action and the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee's Strategic Plan for Breastfeeding. In addition, the Breastfeeding Resource Program has conducted an evaluation of the CIGNA Health Care Corporation’s “Working Well Moms Program,” a nationwide corporate on-site lactation support program, and an analysis of the Commonwealth Fund's Survey of Parents with Young Children. Drs. Slusser and Lange also convened the first ever Breastfeeding and Childcare Advisory Group in 1998. Supported by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and attended by national experts in child care and breastfeeding, this workshop outlined priority areas to develop a strategy to increase the numbers of childcare providers and programs that support breastfeeding families. In 2001 the collaborative sponsorship of breastfeeding by the UCLA School of Public Health was honored to be nominated for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Award for Global Health for both historic and recent performance in promoting and improving equity in global health.

Most recently, Dr. Slusser and Dr. Lange were asked by First 5 LA  to compile a needs assessment in order to establish an integrated and comprehensive breastfeeding support system for Los Angeles County. Their report identified potential strategies to add, strengthen or expand existing breastfeeding programs or services in Los Angeles. In addition, the report suggests a framework to link and integrate these services and programs in order to increase the accessibility and responsiveness of programs and services for the breastfeeding family.

Click here to see Center publications from this program

For additional information, please contact Wendy Slusser MD, MS, director of the UCLA Breastfeeding Resource Program.