ALBANY -- New York will install regulations next year to encourage new mothers to breastfeed.
The
state Health Department on Wednesday said the new regulations will help
mothers in the state's 126 birthing hospitals to begin breastfeeding
right after babies are born.
Hospitals will be required, unless
there is a medical reason otherwise, to place newborns with their
mothers immediately after delivery.
The goal, the state said, is
that skin-to-skin contact between infants and their mothers lead to
better breathing and heart rates in the newborn and allows for a greater
chance of breastfeeding.
“The amended regulations help ensure
that we provide the support and encouragement new mothers need to
breastfeed their babies and continue to exclusively breastfeed for the
first six months,” Howard Zucker, commissioner of health, said in a
statement.
New York's breastfeeding rates are well below the national target, the health department said.
In
New York, 44 percent of newborns in New York are breastfed within the
first few days of life, compared to the national target of 70 percent,
the agency said.
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Source: WGRZ.com (via The Empire Report)
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