Optimal childbirth leads to optimal conditions for breastfeeding (which provides optimal nutrition and immunity for newborns): babies who are born awake and alert, who didn’t have a suction tube put down their throat, who were not induced or scheduled and therefore are breathing with lungs that are fully mature, whose lungs reaped the physiological benefits of vaginal birth, who get immediate skin-to-skin contact with their mother, who are not routinely separated from their mother, and who are born to mothers in relatively good shape (i.e. not recovering from surgery) — these mother-baby pairs are more likely to breastfeed, and breastfeed exclusively. They’re also more likely to breastfeed if their hospital doesn’t give out pacifiers, supplement with formula, or send mom home with freebie formula samples.

But according to a first-of-its-kind survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the majority of U.S. hospitals are failing. Nearly 2,700 hospitals and birth centers were surveyed on labor & delivery care, postpartum care, and follow-up care. Hospitals received a mean score of 62 – that would be an ‘F’ in grade school — and birth centers came away with a solid ‘B,’ at 86.

“The findings indicate substantial prevalences of maternity practices that are not evidence-based and are known to interfere with breastfeeding,” says the CDC.

• Nearly one-quarter (24%) of birth facilities reported supplementing the majority of healthy, full-term, breastfed newborns with “something other than breast milk…a practice shown to be unnecessary and detrimental to breastfeeding.”
• 65% told mothers to limit the duration of suckling
• 45% gave pacifiers to the majority of infants
• 70% gave breastfeeding moms “gift bags” with formula samples.

The CDC concludes: “Facilities should consider discontinuing these practices to provide more positive influences on both breastfeeding initiation and duration.” Read the full report here. Want to know more about breastfeeding? Pop into the Breastfeeding Cafe.