At a glance
Breastfeeding and infant safety in hospitals are part of the continuum of care for breastfeeding mothers. These resources provide current guidance for public health professionals, hospital administrators, medical providers, maternity staff, and others providing care to mothers and newborns.
Practices that support breastfeeding
CDC supports improving maternity care practices and policies that support breastfeeding. These include safely implementing the and the in U.S. facilities where babies are born.
The Ten Steps include evidence-based practices such as skin-to-skin care and rooming-in. These steps help mothers initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of life. They also support mothers who choose to breastfeed continue breastfeeding while in the hospital and beyond the hospital stay.
Skin-to-skin care
Skin-to-skin care is placing the newborn directly on the chest of the mother or other caregiver to maximize surface-to-surface contact. This practice helps initiate breastfeeding, stabilize glucose levels, and maintain infant body temperature. Skin-to-skin care is encouraged immediately after delivery for medically stable mothers and newborns.
An American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) outlines safe skin-to-skin care immediately following delivery. These suggested procedures include proper positioning of the newborn and maximizing skin-to-skin contact.
Rooming-in
Rooming-in means allowing the mother and infant to remain together 24 hours per day during the birth hospitalization. Rooming-in has multiple benefits in addition to facilitating breastfeeding. For safe sleep during birth hospitalization, the :
- Giving mothers and infants close but separate sleep surfaces with a firm and flat (not at an angle or inclined) mattress or pad.
- Keeping soft bedding such as blankets, pillows, bumper pads, and soft toys out of the baby's sleep area.
- Placing infants on their backs to sleep.