Babies are born to be breastfed - Bulletins: news about pregnancy, birth, and parenting

WHAT DO McGRUFF THE CRIME DOG AND SMOKEY THE Bear have in common? They're both characters featured by the Ad Council, promoter of public-service announcements on everything from drunk driving to littering--and now, with the National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign, nursing.

Created to carry out the recommendations of the US Department of Health and Human Services' Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding (2000), the campaign will aim to promote breastfeeding among first-time parents who would not normally choose to nurse. With the slogan "Babies ate born to be breastfed," the initiative will stress the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. Nursing for a year, or for as long as mutually desired by mother and child, will be encouraged as well. Also, the campaign will clearly illustrate the risks associated with not nursing.

Although US breastfeeding rates have improved over the last 50 years, they still do not compare to countries such as Australia, Iceland, Sweden, and Kenya, where initiation rates ate more than 90 percent. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months, but only 17 percent of American moms actually do this. In addition, breastfeeding rates are low among certain social groups, specifically African Americans, Asians, employed women, teenagers, and first-time moms. For instance, only 50 percent of African American moms even begin nursing, and about four out of tire stop within six months.

Designed by the Ad Council and McKinney & Silver, a large advertising agency in Raleigh, North Carolina, the National Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign will be produced with funds given to the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health.

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