Abstract
D
In some ways, one of the most significant documents produced is the ABM Position Statement, which sets out quite clearly what the ABM stands for. The purpose of the Position Statement is to emphasize the extent to which physicians play a central role in the promotion, protection, and support of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding and human lactation warrant serious, increased, and significant attention in medical training, practice, and research, given the substantial and longitudinal impact of breastfeeding on maternal, child, and societal health, as well as the influence that healthcare policies and practices have on women's breastfeeding decisions and success in achieving their goals. The Statement affirms tenets that relate to breastfeeding and maternal and child health, accepts and endorses global statements on breastfeeding and on infant and young child feeding such as the World Health Organization's Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and calls upon all parties, governments, national and international health professional organizations, and the United Nations and multilateral organizations to pursue activities that actively support health professional training and breastfeeding women. This Statement has recently been updated and is available on the ABM Website.
The evidence-based ABM Protocols are probably the most widely used and acknowledged “product” of the Academy. Twenty-five Protocols have been produced so far, and many are translated into a number of languages as well as English. They cover neonatal and maternal issues that range from “Guidelines for Blood Glucose Monitoring and Treatment of Hypoglycemia in Term and Late-Preterm Neonates” to “Guidelines for Breastfeeding and Substance Use or Substance Use Disorder.” The Protocols are revised and updated every 5 years to ensure they reflect the current evidence and acknowledge specific concerns that may be time dependent. The development process for the Protocols involves extensive review by experts in the field and international members, as well as members of the Protocol Committee and the Board of Directors. All protocols are available on the ABM Website, and new or revised Protocols are published in Breastfeeding Medicine.
The launch of the journal Breastfeeding Medicine in 2006 provided a vehicle to present ABM to the wider international medical and scientific community, as well as providing them with the latest peer-reviewed reports of laboratory, field, and clinical investigations about breastfeeding and human lactation. Since 2006 the journal has gone from strength to strength, with 10 issues now being published each year.
ABM continues to be invited to high-level consultations related to breastfeeding and maternal and infant health with organizations such as UNICEF, governmental consultations, and medical speciality committees.
Our Annual International Meetings and Regional Meetings in Europe provide high-quality educational offerings to members and nonmembers alike. In addition, in 2015 ABM joined with iLactation (www.ilactation.com/) to provide the previous year's conference proceedings online and available to physicians and other health professionals worldwide. The workshop entitled What Every Physician Needs to Know about Breastfeeding is run yearly in conjunction with the Annual International Meeting and, more recently, in areas of need throughout the United States with a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Similar workshops have been undertaken in other countries as well, adjusted to meet the cultural differences and needs of physicians in that country.
From the members' perspective, ABM offers opportunities for meeting and networking with other like-minded physicians, no matter where in the world they live. A sense of camaraderie develops that is so important in instilling ongoing enthusiasm for the task at hand, especially if the physician is isolated from other physicians interested in breastfeeding. No longer is he or she the “lone wolf crying in the wilderness.” The listserv facilitates the exchange of information and knowledge between members to assist with clinical problems.
While looking back is often instructive, we also need to look forward to where we would like ABM to be in the next 5, 10, and 20 years. This is part of the strategic planning process now being undertaken. Various members have either been interviewed or have completed questionnaires, and their views and opinions will be taken into account in the formulation of the final plan. Further information will be provided early next year.
In conclusion, the last 20 years have been an exciting time of ABM and for breastfeeding medicine. The next 20 years are full of opportunity. We must be courageous, and take those opportunities when they arise.