Leading the Charge: Year Two

This is the Second Annual Summit on Breastfeeding supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation on behalf of the journal, Breastfeeding Medicine. The first Summit marked a space in time for the campaign to begin to make breastfeeding not only a household word but universal behavior for mothers and babies. The first Summit in June 2009 was launched exactly 25 years after the first Surgeon General's Workshop. The challenges outlined in that first workshop report were reviewed and served as a baseline for the new discussion and the new directives. During the past year governmental agencies, professional organizations, and programs have been addressing the charges as part of their strategic plans.

The Second Annual Summit was designed to review the progress, access new directions, and create additional recommendations. The reports of the two days of activity are printed in this journal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Office on Women's Health, and the Surgeon General's Office have recorded great strides. Doctors, nurses, and hospitals describe new directions. Representatives of minority groups whose breastfeeding rates are low explain the issues involved.

A new way of thinking is articulated to approach how we sell breastfeeding. Our anthropologist presents a unique way of thinking about the poor duration of breastfeeding among at-risk populations. A health economist shines the headlights on the little-considered issues of healthcare economics and how breastfeeding is influenced by the new healthcare regulations. Dr. Charles Phelps sketched the present paradigm and suggests a major change in that approach.

We invite you to follow the story and its challenging conclusions.