January 27, 2023
TO:
Hospital Administrators, Unit Nurse Managers (Labor and Delivery, Postpartum, Newborn Nursery, and Neonatal Intensive Care
SUBJECT:
2020 In-Hospital Breastfeeding Data
The California Department of Public Health's (CDPH) Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division (MCAH) is pleased to announce the release of California's 2020 in-hospital breastfeeding initiation rates. MCAH monitors in-hospital infant feeding practices utilizing data obtained during routine newborn screening for genetic diseases. These data are posted on the
CDPH Breastfeeding Statistics website at www.cdph.ca.gov/breastfeedingdata.
We encourage you to review your hospital's breastfeeding rates to identify how successful your facility is in promoting and supporting exclusive breastfeeding in the early postpartum period. Please take advantage of the attached resources to assist you with quality improvement efforts to ensure your policies and practices support exclusive breastfeeding. Establishing evidence-based breastfeeding policies will support your hospital's efforts to comply with the Joint Commission's Perinatal Care Core Measure on exclusive breast milk feeding. In addition, this will support legislation requiring hospitals with perinatal units to have evidenced-based policies and practices that support breastfeeding (California Health & Safety Codes Ā§123366 and Ā§123367).
Working together, we will build hospital environments in which staff and patients consider breastfeeding the optimal method for providing needed nutrition to infants for healthy growth and development.
Sincerely,
Diane Lindsey, MPH, Chief
Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division
Center for Family Health
California Department of Public Health
Enclosure