It has come to our attention that some subscribers did not receive this week's edition of the Staying Abreast: Weekly Wire. We are resending this issue to ensure that all of our readers receive it. Apologies to any subscribers who are receiving duplicate issues!
The Staying Abreast: Weekly Wire e-Newsletter is a compendium of news, actions, and resources considered to be of interest or relevance to the breastfeeding field. The newsletter aims to support the USBC mission "To drive collaborative efforts for policy and practices that create a landscape of breastfeeding support across the United States." Included items are submitted for consideration or identified by the USBC e-news team via an extensive online review. Whenever possible, the newsletter utilizes language directly from the primary source of an item without additional analysis or edits. In some cases, the USBC offers additional perspectives through the "USBC Insights," media and partner highlights, and the "News & Views" section. Inclusion of an item in the e-newsletter does not imply endorsement or support by the USBC of an item or organization, unless specifically noted.
In this issue:
denotes a USBC member organization news item
denotes a USBC-affiliated constellation news item
Registered attendees from the 2022 USBC Conference may access session recordings until September 9. Registrants who applied for continuing education were sent an email on Friday, August 5. Reach out to the office if you did not receive your message and certificate. Please save the date for the 2023 convening, scheduled for June 8-10 in Bethesda, MD.
USBC Senior Policy & Communications Manager Cheryl Lebedevitch was recently interviewed for a Girlboss piece titled "Why Is Breastfeeding in the Workplace Still Such a Contentious Topic?" She talks about the impact of historical traumas, as well as the importance of passing legislation such as paid family and medical leave, and the PUMP Act. The piece featured a shareable Instagram story.
We are midway though National Breastfeeding Month! We invite all member organizations, breastfeeding coalitions, partner organizations, and individuals to participate in online action and conversation about the policy and practice changes needed to build a landscape of support for babies and families. Please share your organization's plans so we can amplify your work in the Weekly Wire and on social media. Highlights from the field include:
The above unbranded graphics, plus more, are available for download on the USBC NBM webpage.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated data on breastfeeding rates from the National Immunization Survey. The National Immunization Survey is a random U.S. household survey and has included breastfeeding questions since 2001. Nationally, 83% of babies born in 2019 were ever breastfed and 56% were receiving breastmilk at 6 months. The socio-demographic data indicate that disparities in breastfeeding persist.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released notice of several upcoming funding opportunities which include components to support lactating families:
The American Academy of Pediatrics published an updated resource titled "FAQ on Management of Infants Born to Mothers with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19." The resource provides updated guidance on parent presence in the NICU, updated statistics from the Perinatal COVID-19 Registry, and new evidence on neonatal SARS-CoV-2.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Health Alert Network update titled "Update for Clinicians on Monkeypox in People with HIV, Children and Adolescents, and People who are Pregnant or Breastfeeding." The alert serves to inform clinicians to clinical considerations for preventing, diagnosing, and managing monkeypox in people with HIV, children, adolescents, and people who are pregnant or breastfeeding and highlights new CDC clinical considerations for monkeypox infection in multiple populations, including those who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
The Pregnant Scholar at the Center for WorkLife Law, UC Hastings College of the Law is hosting a webinar titled "Supporting Lactating Students and Employees on Campus" on Wednesday, August 17, at 1 p.m. ET. The expert presenters will discuss new proposed regulations for students and employees, offer a roadmap for implementing compliant policies, and share resources for better understanding the law and the needs of lactating students.
The U.S. Department of Labor published two new resources for parents and employers:
The U.S. Department of Labor's Women's Bureau, the Wage and Hour Division, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are hosting a webinar titled "Know Your Rights: Nursing Workers & FMLA" on Wednesday, August 31, at 3 p.m. ET. The webinar will discuss protections under the Family and Medial Leave Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and Pregnancy Discrimination Act protections.
U.S. Department of Agriculture released several resources on supporting breastfeeding families. A new series of webpages features words of affirmation for mothers, partners, grandparents, and friends. Individuals can use the information in these articles to reaffirm and support a mother's choice to breastfeed. In addition, USDA released the Interactive Breastfeeding Support Quiz. The five-question quiz can be shared with participants to increase understanding about the ways partners, friends, family, and other support persons can provide important support to a breastfeeding parent.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the Loving Support Breastfeeding Trainings will be retired on September 30, 2022. The updated WIC Breastfeeding Curriculum, Grow and Glow in WIC, is available to WIC agencies through the State and Regional WIC Office.????
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has released the "2022 County Health Rankings National Findings Report." The report features county-level data on community conditions to help families thrive, including child care and paid family and medical leave. This year's County Health Rankings feature seven new, actionable measures related to income, education, family and social support, and health outcomes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Minority Health and Health Equity launched a new webpage dedicated to providing a greater understanding of health equity. Health equity is the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Achieving this requires ongoing societal efforts to address historical and contemporary injustices, overcome economic, social, and other obstacles to health and health care, and eliminate preventable health disparities.
The National Institute for Children's Heath Quality is hosting a webinar titled "Centering Community Voices: Solutions to Safe Sleep and Breastfeeding Using a Quality Improvement Framework" on Wednesday, August 24, at 2 p.m. ET. This webinar will discuss how the NAPPSS-IIN programmatic and evaluation pursuits shifted to center community voices within participatory quality improvement (QI). Community partners will share their experiences leading and implementing QI activities.
The Congressional Budget Office published a cost estimate titled "H.R. 4693, Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act of 2021." H.R. 4693 would authorize the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to coordinate efforts to prevent and treat malnutrition globally, including breastfeeding support.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service published new resource pages on the WIC Works Resource System (WWRS) and the WIC Breastfeeding Support website:
"Nutrition Assessment During a Formula Shortage" includes assessment considerations, potential questions for discussion with participants, and resources that may be helpful during a WIC nutrition assessment.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau published new data on mothers and families using Census Bureau data. The data includes statistics on labor force participation rates, unemployment, occupation, family type, family income, as well a graphic on childcare-related work disruptions during the pandemic.
CNBC: "As more states take up paid family leave, here’s where the push for a national policy stands"
CNN: "'The time is right:' Noem backs paid family leave in South Dakota"
Fast Company: "Why the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act still hasn't passed"
The Hill: "Most US women would lose their savings after 8 weeks of unpaid maternity leave: survey"
USDA: "USDA Extends Flexibility that’s Helping Manufacturers, States get Formula to WIC Families"
Breastfeeding Medicine:
International Journal for Equity in Health: "Interventions and policy approaches to promote equity in breastfeeding"
Maternal & Child Nutrition: "Countries' experiences scaling up national breastfeeding, protection, promotion and support programmes: Comparative case studies analysis"
Pediatrics: "Maternal Milk for Very Preterm Infants Tied to Long-Term Neurodevelopment"
Public Health Reports: "Prepregnancy and Gestational Diabetes and Cessation of Breastfeeding <1 Week Postpartum, United States, 2016-2018"
Obstetrics and Gynecology:
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center: "Racial Inequities in the Availability of Evidence-Based Supports for Maternal and Infant Health in 93 Rural US Counties with Hospital-Based Obstetric Care"
U.S. Breastfeeding Committee
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