Leading the Charge,Year Four

This issue is the report of the Fourth Annual Summit on Breastfeeding, “First Food: The Essential Role of Breastfeeding.” The First Summit on Breastfeeding was convened in Washington in 2009 to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the Surgeon General's original Call to Action in 1984 by C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D. The basic plan in 2009 was to establish new strategies to promote breastfeeding in diverse and large venues. The status of breastfeeding in the United States was reviewed, and although progress had been made in initiation, employment was viewed as a huge barrier. Disparities in breastfeeding continued to grow. Children who would most benefit from breastfeeding were not given this essential opportunity.

In 2010, the Second Summit reviewed the progress accomplished: more women were initiating breastfeeding and nearly achieving the goals set by Healthy People 2010 of 75% of women breastfeeding in the hospital. ¹ Unfortunately, duration had been abysmal, and the disparity in numbers among the underserved and populations of color was of greater concern. The new focus was to harness the third-party payers and the healthcare brain trusts to find a solution. The stimulus was the report by Melissa Bartick, M.D., M.Sc., and Arnold Reinhold, M.B.A., “The Burden of Suboptimal Breastfeeding in the United States: A Pediatric Cost Analysis,” which identified a savings of 13 billion dollars for the healthcare system if 90% of women breastfed their children for the first 6 months. ² Charles Phelps, Ph.D., led the way and had spent the past year working on a scheme that would harness the skills of the corporate world and develop a “business plan” to push breastfeeding ahead in all venues, including the need to reverse the poor record of support for mothers of color and their infants.

In addition to the updates from the Federal, state, and local levels, the Third Summit gathered together experts in both healthcare economics and health promotion. The Surgeon General's new Call to Action, ³ the new White House Council on Women and Girls Report, ⁴ and the continuing work of the Office on Women's Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the issues pertaining to progress in breastfeeding rates across the country were discussed. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) also continued to be a big player in the field. We benefited from WIC presentations, as well as presentations from a key Senator, mayors, and health commissioners. The most important member of the discussion was the audience, invited because of their expertise, experience, and commitment to moving the numbers.

The numbers have begun to move at the Federal, state, and local levels by harnessing the commitment and action in the public sector and the private sector. This year we have gone to the leadership of organizations that support mothers of color and to the mayors of cities and towns to enlist their wisdom and penchant for progress. The insurance industry is still involved. The National Prevention Council is a major player in the effort to move things forward at the Federal level. The spirit of cooperation is palpable, and the enthusiasm for progress is spreading throughout the private sector. The individual remarks are compelling. The concinnity is apparent.