I have been privileged to serve on this ICEA Board for the past few years – currently as the Director of Lactation. In that role, I am very proud of the fact that ICEA adheres to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Code on the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. What does it even mean to adhere to the WHO Code? It means that ICEA will not accept funding from formula companies, nor will we collaborate with partners who accept formula company funding. Did you know that the World Health Assembly adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes back in 1981? We are now forty-four years later, and formula milk manufacturing companies continue to violate these established principles and place commercial interests before children’s and families’ health.

Although there are currently no consequences for companies that do not adhere to the Code in the USA, it is still important that as ICEA members we are not engaging in the marketing of breastmilk substitutes. According to WHO, “Inappropriate marketing of breast-milk substitutes continues to undermine efforts to improve breastfeeding rates and duration worldwide.”

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the tremendous influence that we can have on the decisions that new parents will make for their families. Whether you are a birth or postpartum doula or childbirth educator, you have a direct line to provide accurate and unbiased information about infant feeding choices. We can help to inform the expectant families we are engaging with by encouraging the recommendations of both WHO and UNICEF:

• Early initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth
• Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life
• Introduction of nutritionally-adequate and safe complementary (solid) foods at 6 months together with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond

Is everyone going to breastfeed or provide pumped human milk? No, of course not – we know there are many reasons that a birthing parent may be unable to breast/chest feed their child. But for the families who have chosen to, it is our responsibility to support their feeding choice with accurate and evidence-based information.

Do your educational materials reflect evidence-based information? Did you know that you can find some great resources on the ICEA Partners page on the website – check it out (you can get some nice discounts, too!).

For anyone interested in joining our Lactation Committee (last year we did some promotion for World Breastfeeding Week), please email me! As the ICEA representative on the United States Breastfeeding Committee, I would also like to share a new project that ICEA is working on as a member organization of USBC.

This new Infant Feeding Survey is intended to be shared with a specific audience – parents who have given birth in the past one to six months, and are currently caring for an infant. The survey is anonymous, and ICEA and USBC will have access to the data as it is gathered. It seems like an easy way to gather more current feeding data than is available now in the USA. If you are interested, and are working with families who meet this criteria, here is the link to the survey: USBC ICEA Infant Feeding Survey. Once you have taken the survey, you will be able to see local, state, and national results for surveys submitted to date. You can also return any time over the next year to see the survey results grow. You could share insights and data from the survey results with current and potential supporters and partners in your community.

Did you attend our amazing conference in San Antonio? It was so nice to finally meet my fellow Board members in person, after 2 years of Zooming! And the educational offerings were top-notch! Being a member of the conference committee was a great way to give back to our organization, too. There are lots of opportunities for you to share your passion, enthusiasm and expertise with other ICEA members. Don’t be afraid to nominate yourself for an open Board position when they are announced, or to join one of the committees that are pulled together to complete a specific task.

Keep a lookout for educational offerings from Board members! Did you get a chance to see Emily Mason’s fantastic presentation on Branding Your Business? So much useful information! Hope that you will take advantage of the wonderful opportunities that are being planned.

Warmly,

Stephanie Sosnowski, BS, IBCLC, ICCE