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NOVEMBER 14, 2007

A report—A Fair Start for Better Health: California Hospitals Must Close the Gap in Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates—issued by the University of California at Davis Human Lactation Institute and sponsored by the California WIC Association ranks nearly every hospital in the state in terms of the rate of new mothers who breastfeed while in the hospital.

The analysis reveals stark differences in rates—with a concentration of low-performing hospitals in Southern California counties—and demonstrates that the breastfeeding gap is greatest in hospitals serving low-income mothers and babies.

But the report goes on to show that, when hospitals improve their newborn feeding policies and practices, they can dramatically increase their breastfeeding rates.

For more information on ways to eliminate barriers to breastfeeding in the hospital setting and the model hospital policies and practices, visit the California Department of Public Health’s Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health website.