Infant and Child Nutrition

Why Is This Important?

Breastfeeding is associated with improved maternal and infant health, including nutritional, immunologic, developmental, and psychological benefits. [1] Infants who are breastfed are at lower risk for childhood infections, respiratory conditions, sudden infant death syndrome, childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes, and childhood asthma. [2]

As the benefits of breastfeeding have become more widely known in recent years, breastfeeding rates in Connecticut have begun to exhibit a more positive upward trend overall, yet they continue to reflect significant disparities in demographic and socioeconomic variables. [3]

There are many interrelated factors which impact a woman's decision to breastfeed, and which determine whether or not her personal breastfeeding goals will be met. There are also many factors determining a health care provider's ability to effectively promote and support breastfeeding. Virtually all of these factors relate to individual knowledge, attitudes and practices - among both new moms and health care providers - which can be positively impacted through evidence-based breastfeeding programs, services and policies.

[1] US Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, 2011.

[2] US Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, 2011.

[3] National Immunization Survey (NIS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/NIS_data/

What We Do

Who We Serve

How We Impact