Went browsing thru the Healthy People 2020 website and found this:

"Is it OK to nurse my baby to sleep?"

"Nursing your baby to sleep can become problematic as your little one gets older because he or she may need to nurse to take a nap or go to bed at night. It helps to wean your baby off of sucking for comfort and make breastfeeding sessions about nourishment not pacifying."

"Also try to put your baby down for naps and bedtime slightly awake so your little one will get used to falling asleep without having to nurse."

"Instead of nursing, you may want to offer your baby his or her thumb or hand to suck on. You also could consider giving your little one a pacifier. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends giving babies under a year pacifiers at naptime and bedtime to reduce the risk of SIDS. However, babies who are not interested in pacifiers should not be forced to take them, and pacifiers should not be put back in if they fall out once the baby falls asleep."

Me again: this is just a portion of the page. How is it bad for baby's health for him to fall asleep at the breast? How does it improve baby's health to put him down in bed while still awake? How does it improve baby's health to nurse only for nourishment but never for comfort? Wouldn't dentists have something to say about not just encouraging thumb sucking, but actually teaching baby to do it? 

IMO: this is another example of giving parenting advice (orders?) in the guise of Health Care. But this time, it comes from the government. I hope we are not going to be mandated to teach this as part of the Healthy People 2020 program.

Phyllis


---- [log in to unmask] wrote: 

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Today the new Healthy People 2020 health goals for the United States were released with strong support for breastfeeding. The new target for breastfeeding initiation is 81.9% and three new goals have been added; increase the proportion of employers that have worksite lactation support programs, reduce the proportion of breastfed newborns who receive formula supplementation within the first 2 days of life, and increase the proportion of live births that occur in facilities that provide recommended care for lactating mothers and their babies (a big boost for the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative). The Healthy People initiative sets national objectives with a monitoring process to motivate action. In the last decade, preliminary analyses indicate that the country has either progressed toward or met 71 percent of its Healthy People targets. This is certainly true of breastfeeding initiation which met the 75% goal of Health People 2010. Now is the time to renew our efforts and use these goals as tools to improve the health of our mothers and babies.
http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/objectiveslist.aspx?topicid=26



Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA





 

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--
Phyllis Adamson, BA, IBCLC
Glendale, AZ.
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