While almost all hospitals inform new parents about the benefits of breastfeeding during pregnancy, a lot more could be done to help new moms succeed once the baby is born.
A new CDC report released at noon today finds that only 4% of hospitals follow 9 out of 10 recommendations to get mom & baby on the successful path of breastfeeding.
Nursing babies for the first 9 months can reduce the risk of becoming overweight by 30%, but only 1/3 of new moms are still breastfeeding at this time.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN chief medical correspondent, joins American Morning today to discuss why breast milk is so important for babies and to weigh in on what hospitals can do to help encourage nursing mothers.