Interdependence, or being mutually dependent on each other, is a key principle for any team-based system. 

August is National Breastfeeding Month and this year's theme is RISE:  Resilience, Interdependence, Self-Determination, Empowerment.  However your practice celebrates, this is a moment to reflect on creating and advocating for an effective team-based breastfeeding support effort whether within your practice, the community, or larger health care system.  Effective team-based care involves identifying shared goals, utilizing each team member's skills to collaborate, share progress, and celebrate successes. 

Have you checked out Dr. Witt's recent blog and call to action?  Let's Strengthen What Works embraces the 2026 World Breastfeeding Week theme by highlighting the need for our electronic medical records to routinely track breastfeeding rates.

Read the blog, then consider contacting your EMR to request changes to the system for tracking breastfeeding rates routinely at well child visit. This is one of many big picture changes that enable practices to track progress in breastfeeding. 

Read:  Let's Strengthen What Works Blog

Research Updates

Healthy 2030 Breastfeeding Objectives

Objectives include:

• Increase the proportion of infants who are breastfed exclusively through age 6 months

• Increase the proportion of infants who are breastfed at 1 year

• Increase access to comprehensive, high-quality health care services.

Breastfeeding may lessen socioeconomic disparities in child health via infant gut microbiome

• Children's health is impacted by familial socioeconomic status, with lower SES associated with heightened risk of chronic non-communicable diseases and infant gut microbiota variations.
• Breastfeeding may buffer impacts of low SES and environmental exposures, contributing to better health outcomes.
• from Cell Reports Medicine, 2026

Prevalence of Antenatally Identified Lactation Risk Factors and Risk of Not Fully Breastfeeding at 6 to 8 Weeks Postpartum

• Over half of pregnant women may have a lactation risk factor such as gestational diabetes and high BMI that impact the ability to exclusively breastfeed at 6-8 weeks postpartum.
• Tailored education about the potential impacts on breastfeeding and appropriate guidance & support may improve breastfeeding outcomes for women with preexisting lactation risk factors.
• from Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 2025

Helpful Resources

• National Breastfeeding Month Theme for 2026 is RISE: Resilience, Interdependence, Self-Determination, Empowerment.
  • August 8-14 is Indigenous Milk Medicine Week, with the theme We Keep the Fires Lit: Rising Through Milk Medicine
  • August 15-21 we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Week: Diverse Voices, One Vision
  • August 25-31 is Black Breastfeeding Week! This year's theme is Boots on the Ground; Rooted in Breastfeeding Success, Grounded in Community Support
  • The celebration continues into September with Semana de la Lactancia Latina and

    Deaf & Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Week

• WIC National Breastfeeding Week is the same week as World Breastfeeding Week. Check out the resources on their site including some breastfeeding basics quizzes.
• When Systems Falter, Invest in What Holds: Community-Based Organizations as Critical Maternal Health Infrastructure, a report that examines the maternal health implications of H.R. 1 and how community-based organizations are affected by federal policy shifts.