What Physician Can Do to Support Breastfeeding

1. Work collaboratively with the obstetric community to ensure that women receive adequate information throughout the perinatal period to make a fully informed decision about infant feeding, breastfeeding preferences are included in the patient's personal birth plan and use opportunities to provide age-appropriate breastfeeding education to children and adults.
2. Physicians are encouraged to work actively toward eliminating hospital practices that discourage breastfeeding and promote hospital policies and procedures that facilitate breastfeeding. Because early maternal-infant contact is a pleasurable and low-risk intervention, it seems reasonable, to promote early initiation of breastfeeding. The problem not exist if everyone works together to improve breastfeeding success.
3. Become familiar with local breastfeeding resources so that patients can be referred appropriately. When specialized breastfeeding services are used, physicians need to clarify for patients their essential role as the infant's primary medical caretaker.
4. Encourage routine insurance coverage for necessary breastfeeding services and supplies, including breast pump rental and the time required by physicians and other licensed health care professionals to assess and manage breastfeeding.
5. Promote breastfeeding as a normal part of daily life, and encourage family and societal support for breastfeeding.
6. Advise mothers to return to their physician for a thorough breast examination when breastfeeding is terminated.
7. Promote breastfeeding education as a routine component of medical school and residency education.

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