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 An Open Letter to Health Care Providers Attending to Families Affected
by Hurricane Katrina: The Role of Human Milk and Breastfeeding



September 7, 2005





You are caring for children and adults under the most
stressful and distressing situations during this post-Hurricane Katrina
period. We all thank you and honor you for this heroic effort.



Please consider the value of human milk and breastfeeding as
an important component of this care of both young children and their
mothers. Human milk is a valuable resource that can not only protect
the vulnerable infant from disease, but can also promote psychological
health and comfort during stressful times. Human milk reduces pain and
promotes more rapid healing after injuries and infections. While
maternal health is of great importance, it should be recognized that
even the malnourished mother will produce milk of good quality for her
infant.



The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states that
"breastfeeding ensures the best possible health as well as the best
developmental and psychosocial outcomes for infants." Under situations
of displacement, poor sanitation, inadequate food resources, threats of
infection, and severe anxiety, human milk and breastfeeding have a
particularly important role to play in protecting the vulnerable infant
from infection and psychological trauma. One example of this protection
is the remarkable reduction in diarrhea in breastfed infants who are
exposed to shigella, a common cause of dysentery.



During this post-Hurricane Katrina time, health care workers
should make every effort to promote breastfeeding by:



1) urging pregnant women to breastfeed immediately after delivery
of their infant,

2) urging new mothers to start breastfeeding at any time during the
early weeks after birth

3) urging breastfeeding mothers to continue exclusive breastfeeding
for six months

4) urging breastfeeding mothers to continue breastfeeding for at
least one year and longer, even after starting other foods.



La Leche League International and the Section on Breastfeeding of the
American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as many other experts on
breastfeeding, stand ready to assist you in your efforts to promote,
protect and support breastfeeding and the use of human milk.



Lawrence M.
Gartner, M.D.

Member,
Professional Advisory Board of LLLI

Chair,
Section on Breastfeeding of the AAP

Professor
Emeritus, The University of Chicago







Jennifer Hopkin

Marketing Director

La Leche League International

847-592-7554

847-519-0035 (fax)

Happy mothers, breastfed babies





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Mirine Dye
Fla Keys

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