For Health Care Providers

Become a Breastfeeding Friendly Practice

Health care providers play an integral role in promoting and supporting a woman's decision to breastfeed. This promotion and support begins during preconception care and continues through prenatal, postpartum and ongoing care of the woman, the infant, and her family. Providers are vital sources of expertise to communicate the advantages of breastfeeding and the risks of not breastfeeding, help promote exclusivity and enable long-term breastfeeding success based on the mother's intentions. Becoming designated as a Breastfeeding Friendly Practice indicates dedication to improving and establishing optimal maternity and newborn care in support of breastfeeding. This designation provides opportunities to promote the quality of your services to your community.

New York State Breastfeeding Friendly Practice Designation Materials

• Letter of Introduction: NYS Breastfeeding Friendly Practices Designation (PDF,)
• NYS Breastfeeding Friendly Practice Designation Assessment Survey (Fillable Survey) (PDF)
• NYS Ten Steps to a Successful Breastfeeding Friendly Practice Handout (PDF)
• NYS Ten Steps to a Breastfeeding Friendly Practice Implementation Guide (PDF)
• New York State Breastfeeding Friendly Practice: Education Module for Staff (PDF)

Improve Hospital Breastfeeding Policies and Practices

• The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) Clinical Protocols: These protocols serve as guidelines for the care of breastfeeding mothers and infants.
• The Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding: The Ten Steps were released in 1989 as the WHO/UNICEF Joint Statement on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding: The special role of the maternity services. The Innocenti Declaration in 1990 called upon the world to fully implement the Ten Steps in all maternity facilities worldwide. The Ten Steps consist of evidence-based practices that have been shown to increase breastfeeding initiation and duration.
• CDC mPINC Surveys: The Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) Survey Reports by State and Year assess infant feeding care processes, policies and staffing expectations in each state's maternity care settings.
• CDC Breastfeeding Report Cards: The reports published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide state-by-state data on breastfeeding rates and practices.
• Perinatal Services Regulations: Hospital-based regulations for maternal and newborn care in New York State.
• New York State Model Hospital Breastfeeding Policy, October 2016 (PDF)
• New York State Model Hospital Breastfeeding Policy: Implementation Guide, October 2016 (PDF)

Learn about NYS Breastfeeding Initiatives

• Dear Colleague Letter: Call to Action - Successful Breastfeeding Outcomes, April 3, 2017
• Great Beginnings NY - The Future Starts with Breastfeeding
• New York State Breastfeeding Quality Improvement in Hospitals (BQIH)
  • Change Package (PDF)
  • Data Measurement Plan (PDF)

Find Educational Opportunities

• Supporting and Promoting Breastfeeding, Chestfeeding and Lactation in Health Care Settings: This four-part webinar series is developed and produced by the NYS Department of Health and the School of Public Health, University at Albany (UAlbany). These on-demand webinars are designed to increase knowledge and skills, and provide recommended strategies for physicians and other health care providers to support women to successfully breastfeed. The Department worked with UAlbany in 2021-2022 to update and revise this webinar series. Continuing education credits are available.
• Wellstart International: The Wellstart's Lactation Management Self-Study Modules, Level 1 is an educational tool that is downloadable without charge.

Resources

• Breastfeeding Pocket Guide for Health Care Providers
• Situations Where Breastfeeding is Contraindicated or Not Advisable: This policy is to provide healthcare providers with information on situations when breastfeeding is not advisable or contraindicated due to the health of the mother or her infant and/or temporary cessation of breastfeeding is recommended.
  • NYSDOH Policy Statement: Situations Where Breastfeeding is Contraindicated or Not Advisable (PDF)
  • Breastfeeding Policy Statement Transmittal Letter (PDF)
• Supporting Breastfeeding Lactation (PDF): Supporting Breastfeeding Lactation: The Primary Care Pediatrician's Guide to Getting Paid – This resource from the AAP provides billing options and recommendations and includes commonly reported IDC-10 codes.