Breastfeeding in a New Era

Abstract The long history of breastfeeding in infant nutrition and health, the progressive changes in breastfeeding and the use of donor human milk, and our increasing scientific understanding of lactation and the essential composition and health benefits of human milk have led us to uniquely value human milk for infant nutrition. The improvement in breastfeeding rates in the past several decades, the general recognition of human milk as the first food for infants, and a greater realization of the role of breastfeeding in human development bring us into a new era for breastfeeding. We recognize the barriers and difficulties for successful breastfeeding; we are examining our practices for any persisting or new barriers to breastfeeding and are devising solutions to them. Human milk is the norm for human infants and for optimal nutrition and growth. Some of the questions we face in this new era of lactation and human milk include how to effectively support every woman to reach her personal breastfeeding goals. How can we reduce the inequalities and inequities of available breastfeeding services and support, which ultimately should improve breastfeeding rates overall? What more can we learn of the science of lactation and human milk that will inform how we can promote breastfeeding to augment the positive health outcomes for mothers and infants? How do we create legislation and policy that protect and facilitate breastfeeding in public, in our communities, and in the workplace? How do we optimize the practice of patient-centered and culturally sensitive communication to support women and families in their infant-feeding decisions and breastfeeding? If we can answer these questions using a framework of social justice, and the answers are based on evidence-based practice, science, and research, we will create a new era of successful, life-affirming breastfeeding and the use of human milk as the first food for all infants.