Policy Pick: Los Angeles Hospitals Rate Poorly on Breastfeeding Report

Of the 15 hospitals where at least 74 percent of the infants received formula, 11 were in L.A. County, according to the report released Jan. 27 by the California WIC Association (CWA) and the Human Lactation Center at the University of California, Davis. The report goes on to show that, when hospitals improve their breastfeeding practices for newborns, breastfeeding rates increase.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding during the first four to six months of a child's life to prevent illnesses such as diabetes and asthma and reduce the risk of childhood obesity. Breastfeeding also helps prevents diseases to the mother, such as Type-2 diabetes and breast and ovarian cancers.

"The vast majority of low-income mothers we serve in the WIC program are motivated and supported by WIC to breastfeed their newborns, but many of them are giving birth in hospitals with such poor policies that breastfeeding is being systematically undermined," says Laurie True, executive director of the California WIC Association.

While 88 percent of women in L.A. County start breastfeeding at birth, only a third are still exclusively breastfeeding when they leave the hospital, the reported stated. There are hospitals that have earned the "Baby-Friendly Hospital" designation. Staff at those locations encourage breastfeeding by keeping mothers and their newborns together so the mother can breastfeed whenever it is necessary, training staff to help mothers breastfeed and giving breastfeeding newborns breast milk exclusively.

Jane Heinig, executive director of the Human Lactation Center, said: "For many California mothers, the hospital is the only place where they can get the help they need to follow up with their plans to breastfeed their babies. Supportive policies create hospital environments where mothers of all income levels and ethnicities have opportunities to learn about their babies, ask questions and practice feeding while help is readily available."

First 5 LA is committed to funding initiatives that promote breastfeeding, and has awarded eight grants to hospitals that are working toward earning the "Baby-Friendly" designation. The first grant went to California Hospital Medical Center (CHMC) in 2009. This is the first report of its kind where CHMC no longer appears on the list of hospitals with a high rate of infant formula use.

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