The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges for breastfeeding families and state breastfeeding initiatives. This brief discusses these challenges and how states in ASTHO’s Breastfeeding ...
Breastfeeding is considered the gold standard in postnatal care for both birthing persons and infants. Yet racial disparities in breastfeeding initiation and duration rates continue to persist. ...
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children is a targeted public health nutrition program designed to support nutrition and health behaviors that reach low-income ...
Though now an illegal practice, government contracts, policies, and practices have generally excluded women, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Still, practices and existing structures ...
Every August, national, state, and local breastfeeding stakeholders celebrate National Breastfeeding Month by engaging each other and the public in conversations about changes needed to build a ...
ASTHO CEO Michael Fraser, PhD, and Tracey Wareing Evans, President and CEO of APHSA, sit down to discuss building a foundational family well-being roadmap amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood Home Visiting program, which provides visiting services to parents with young children, is up for Congressional reauthorization. This post explores the ...
ASTHO interviewed two state health agencies (SHAs), two nonprofit partners, and one university partner that were heavily invested in state early childhood development policy about how their programs ...
In December 2021, HRSA approved new and updated Women’s Preventive Services Guidelines, which will go into effect in 2023. The recent changes include a new guideline on obesity prevention for midlife ...
Breastfeeding is a shared priority across the nation, and should accommodate mothers who are incarcerated.
As the conversation about the importance of mental health continues to unfold, health agencies have a critical role to play in supporting positive mental health outcomes through nutrition support and ...
Samuel Walker of Java Jam, a fatherhood initiative dedicated to amplifying the lived experiences of men experiencing the birthing and lactation journey alongside their partners.
Breastfeeding and early child nutrition are crucial for promoting healthy early brain development. This infographic details how skin-to-skin breastfeeding and breast milk promote infant ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted pregnant people and infants more severely than some other populations. As such, it is important to pay special attention to this vulnerable group.
The National School Lunch Program, a federally-assisted meal program run by USDA, has provided millions of children with nutritionally balanced, low-cost or no-cost lunches each school day.
USDA has proposed a final rule for long-term school nutrition standards and is seeking public input on the proposed changes through April 10, 2023.
Breastfeeding is a key protective factor against infant and toddler nutrition insecurity and is the ideal source of nutrition for most infants, since it adapts to each child’s unique nutritional ...
The Fostering Breastfeeding Equity Through Community Engagement webinar series emphasizes the importance of community engagement when developing policies.
This infographic outlines recommendations for how PQCs can promote breastfeeding through quality improvement strategies, and includes examples of three state PQCs that have improved policies, ...
Surveilling and monitoring data is key to informing programmatic and policy work, documenting progress and impact, setting relevant adverse childhood experiences-related state priorities, and ...