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Stories help fuel real change for families and educate lawmakers about policies that make a difference. What fuels your passion for breastfeeding and human milk feeding? Whether your connection is personal, professional, or rooted in policy advocacy, we want to hear from you. Share your story with the USBC and help illustrate why this work matters.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released a new Practice Advisory, "Use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists in Pregnancy and Lactation," addressing the use of GLP-1 medications during pregnancy and lactation. Citing limited human safety data, the guidance recommends discontinuing these medications before pregnancy and outlines considerations for lactating patients, including extra caution when nursing newborns and preterm infants. It also emphasizes counseling on contraception and support for nutrition and lifestyle changes. Read the press release.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched the "Newborn Essentials Support Toolkit (NEST) Program," expanding access to newborn and postpartum essentials, breastfeeding support supplies, and trusted health information for families. The initiative builds on HHS's original Newborn Supply Kit pilot launched in 2023, with the first rollout taking place in West Virginia through participating healthcare and maternal health organizations.
Read the press release to learn more about the NEST Program and its launch at West Virginia University Medicine Golisano Children's Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia.
USBC Insight: The NEST Program builds on an earlier federal Newborn Supply Kit pilot and provides families with practical newborn and postpartum supplies, including breastfeeding support products, as well as information and connections to care. However, its infant-feeding materials do not clearly communicate the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding for approximately the first six months, with continued breastfeeding and complementary foods through age two or beyond. Professional and federal guidance is more explicit: the American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes breastfeeding and human milk as the normative standards for infant feeding and nutrition, and CDC identifies breast milk as the best source of nutrition for most infants and documents important health benefits for infants and mothers.
The framing of infant feeding in public-facing education is directly relevant to the Nourishing Thriving Communities objective to Shift Social Norms and Reduce Stigma Around Breastfeeding. Supporting families in making informed infant-feeding decisions requires clear, evidence-based information and policies, systems, and environments that make breastfeeding and human milk feeding realistically accessible. Framing infant feeding primarily around individual choice can overlook the structural conditions that shape whether families are able to meet their feeding goals.
Every Mother Counts released a report, "When Systems Falter, Invest in What Holds: Community-Based Organizations as Critical Maternal Health Infrastructure," analyzing the potential impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) on maternal health care and the community-based organizations that support pregnant and postpartum families. The analysis examines how changes to Medicaid and other federal programs may affect access to care, funding stability, and the capacity of community-based organizations to meet families needs. It also offers recommendations for funders to sustain critical maternal health services and strengthen community-based care.
The Administration for Children and Families' Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) released a report, "Implementing Home Visiting in Native Communities," sharing findings from the Multi-Site Implementation Evaluation of Tribal Home Visiting (MUSE). The report examines how 17 Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) grant recipients implemented their programs, highlighting practices, experiences, and implementation challenges that can inform communities developing, enhancing, or sustaining home visiting services.
The Maternal and Child Health Appropriations Alliance (MCHAA), a coalition of approximately 25 maternal and child health and related organizations, including the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), has launched a new website. The site serves as a central hub for information about MCHAA's mission, federal funding priorities, advocacy activities, and opportunities to engage. Through coordinated messaging, shared intelligence, and collective advocacy, MCHAA works to advance robust and sustained federal investments in maternal and child health, particularly through the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture.
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs: "2027 AMCHP Annual Awards Nominations Now Open." Nominations deadline: Friday, December 18.
Nevada Breastfeeding Coalition: "Breastfeeding Workforce Support Scholarship Cycle 2." Application deadline: Sunday, November 22.
Tuesday, November 3:
Tuesday, November 17:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: "WIC Can Be Strengthened to Improve Pregnancy-Related Health"
MyChesCo: "Chester County Hospital Expands Breastfeeding Care With New Center"
NPR: "More dads taking paid family leave for a new baby, sometimes as much as moms are"
JAMA Network: "Remote Services, Benefits, and Program Retention Changes Among Young Children in WIC"
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 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.
U.S. Breastfeeding Committee
1629 K Street NW Suite 300 | Washington, District of Columbia 20006
(773) 359-1549 | office@usbreastfeeding.org
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