Governor Whitmer declares August as Breastfeeding Month

Aug. 8-14 - Indigenous Milk Medicine Week
Aug. 15-21-Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Week
Aug. 25-31 - Black Breastfeeding Week
Sept. 1-7 - Workplace Lactation Week
Sept. 3-9 - Latina/x Breastfeeding Week (Semana de La Lactancia Latina)

LANSING, Mich. - Michigan is committed to encouraging a strong foundation for life by supporting breastfeeding/chestfeeding as not only a lifestyle choice, but a public health recommendation. As part of this effort, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is declaring August 2024 as Breastfeeding Month.

"Michigan is committed to helping breastfeeding parents reach their goals through community-based support such as doulas and lactation consultants and peer counselors to help diversify support and increase breastfeeding rates in local communities across the state," said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, MDHHS chief medical executive. "Breastfeeding can be beneficial to both babies and parents and protect babies against allergies, sickness and diseases like diabetes and certain cancers. We recognize that not all parents are able to breastfeed, and in those cases we offer resources to ensure that the nutritional needs of infants are met, and that parents feel supported."

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding/chestfeeding up to age 2 years and beyond. Breastmilk provides countless benefits to the infant including risk reduction of respiratory and ear infections, gastrointestinal tract infections, necrotizing enterocolitis, sudden infant death syndrome, asthma, atopic dermatitis, eczema, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and leukemia. It also reduces the incidence of breast and ovarian cancers, postpartum depression and cardiovascular disease for the lactating parent; conditions that disproportionately impact Black, Brown and Indigenous people.

Although 90% of Michigan families start breastfeeding/chestfeeding, the difference between white non-Hispanic initiation (91.3%) and Black, non-Hispanic initiation (81.6%) highlights the barriers that impact families of color. Lack of support both in and out of the health care system, access of high quality, affordable childcare and the benefits of paid work leave decreases the number of people that start and continue breastfeeding their infants.

Michigan is taking action to remove barriers and increase support through several initiatives:

• Educating clinicians on the benefits of breastfeeding and the history of breastfeeding for Black women.
• Increasing access to breastfeeding support including WIC lactation support, doula-led breastfeeding training at the bedside, partnering and funding local/regional breastfeeding support entities, and Regional Perinatal Quality Collaborative mini grant funds issued to local breastfeeding providers.
• Increasing childcare access by increasing compensation of childcare providers and the number of providers.
• Requiring bias training for clinicians.
• Offering lactation training opportunities to clinicians and community-based organizations.

Michigan's Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program is celebrating National Breastfeeding Month with the theme, "WIC Supports Superheroes." WIC assists breastfeeding/chestfeeding families in the following ways:

• Free, unlimited access to lactation consultants and breastfeeding peer counselors including telehealth, phone call or in-person appointment.
• Training to all WIC staff to support prenatal and breastfeeding/chestfeeding families.
• Lactating clients get more WIC foods, including canned fish, and are able to stay on the program longer.
• At 6 months, breastfed babies receive infant meats and more fruits and vegetables.
• WIC offers a breastfeeding warmline available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 833-MIWICBF (833-649-4223).

For more information on events and happenings in Michigan for National Breastfeeding Month, visit the Michigan Breastfeeding Network.

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