Childhood obesity is an epidemic. In the US, 1 preschooler in 5
is at least overweight, and half of these are obese.
Breastfeeding helps protect against childhood obesity. A baby's
risk of becoming an overweight child goes down with each month
of breastfeeding. In the US, most babies start breastfeeding,
but within the first week, half have already been given formula,
and by 9 months, only 31% of babies are breastfeeding at all.
Hospitals can either help or hinder mothers and babies as they
begin to breastfeed. The Baby- Friendly Hospital Initiative
describes Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding that have been
shown to increase breastfeeding rates by providing support to
mothers. Unfortunately, most US hospitals do not fully support
breastfeeding; they should do more to make sure mothers can
start and continue breastfeeding. Most hospitals do not fully
support breastfeeding. Breastfeeding helps protect against
childhood obesity and other illnesses, and lowers medical costs.
- The American Academy of Pediatri