Kaiser Permanente Boosts Breastfeeding Policies

Kaiser committed to Partnership for a Healthier America that it would either work to earn the Baby-Friendly designation for all its hospitals that offer maternal and child health services and/or ensure participation in the Joint Commission's Perinatal Core Measures program, which requires reporting of exclusive breastfeeding rates at discharge.

"At Kaiser Permanente, we are committed to giving every baby the healthiest start possible," said Dr. Edward Ellison, executive medical director-elect, Kaiser Permanente Southern California region. "We believe in making the healthy choice the easy choice for mothers and families, so we are striving to support breastfeeding in our hospitals. We also promote and support breastfeeding as a key component of our comprehensive strategy to prevent childhood obesity."

Kaiser Permanente had more than 96,000 births in its medical centers last year, and cares for more moms and babies than any other integrated health care system. Also as part of its breastfeeding commitment, Kaiser Permanente will:

• Establish a system-wide performance improvement program that focuses on the development and enactment of evidence-based hospital breastfeeding practices.

• Develop and make publicly available a hospital breastfeeding practices guide that documents lessons learned and operational strategies that other systems can use to improve maternity care.

• Ensure accountability by including exclusive breastfeeding rates at discharge as a core quality measure to be reviewed quarterly along with other hospital quality measures.

In making its announcement, Kaiser Permanente said it and the Partnership for a Healthier America share the common goal of supporting breastfeeding as an evidence-based intervention for childhood obesity prevention. Likewise, First 5 LA shares the same goals and is financially supporting 16 Los Angeles County hospitals in their efforts to achieve the Baby-Friendly hospital designation.

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