Breastfeeding Support and Resources Toolkit

A Healthy Start for Your Youngest Patients

Evidence shows that breastfeeding is a healthy choice for your youngest patients and their families. The American Academy of Family Physicians supports you in your decision to support and encourage breastfeeding in your office. We have compiled a variety of resources, including the AAFP’s extensively updated, evidence-guided position paper based on the United States Breastfeeding Coalition's Core Competencies, to help you and your office team create a positive breastfeeding environment for your patients.

Office-Based Tools

Patient Care

• CDC Guide: Strategies to Support Breastfeeding Mothers and Babie: This resource provides state and local community members information to choose the breastfeeding intervention strategy that is best for them.
• Breastfeeding Protocols: Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM): The ABM’s 25 evidence-based guidelines, sorted by topic, are provided here as a helpful resource for physician offices and hospitals.
• Breastfeeding and Using Medications: Should mothers who use prescription drugs breastfeed?: The U.S. National Library of Medicine’s Lactmed is a helpful tool. Lactmed includes information on the levels of such substances in breast milk and infant blood, and the possible adverse effects in the nursing infant. Suggested therapeutic alternatives to those drugs are provided, where appropriate. All data are derived from the scientific literature and fully referenced.
• Phone Triage Tools: Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition: This tool was developed especially for neonates by the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition.

In-Office Patient Education

• AAFP Breastfeeding Basics PowerPoint Presentation: Educate your patients about the benefits of breastfeeding, assist them with both basic techniques and common challenges, and help create a baby-friendly office.
• AAFP Breastfeeding-Friendly Poster for Physician Offices: This AAFP resource is free and depicts the international symbol for breastfeeding. The poster can be downloaded, printed and prominently displayed in your waiting room. This pdf comes in color and in black and white.
  • Color Poster
  • Black & White Poster

Coding & Payment

• Breastfeeding and Billing: Getting Paid For What You Do(137 KB PDF): The most commonly used ICD-10 for mother and baby are included in this AAFP document.

For Your Patients

More at-home resources for your patients

• Why Should I Breastfeed?
• Breastfeeding: Hints to Help You Get Off to a Good Start
• Breastfeeding: Returning to Work

Community Engagement

Partner Resources from the HHS Office on Women’s Health (OWH)

HHS Office on Women's Health Director Dr. Nancy Lee has published a blog post featuring tips to support nursing moms. The new OWH Partner Resources webpage also features new materials to help spread the word about the Supporting Nursing Moms at Work: Employer Solutions online resource, including sample social media posts, infocards, and web badges for easy sharing with managers, human resource directors, coworkers, and employees.

• OWH Partner Resources webpage
• Supporting Nursing Moms at Work: Employer Solutions

Culture and Breastfeeding

Culture plays a large role when making the decision to breastfeed and successful outcomes for better health outcomes, including factors such as ethnic beliefs, family support systems, and income. To better understand cultural influences in providing patient care and support to your patients, these resources can help:

• La Leche League International - Cultural Issues in Breastfeeding

State Health Agency Breastfeeding and Support by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)

Public health agencies play a key role in providing breastfeeding support in the workplace, hospitals, and in the community. Working with the CDC, ASTHO works with 17 state health agencies, including the district of Columbia, to increase breastfeeding through learning.

• Worksite Wellness: Breastfeeding Promotion by ASTHO


• Case Study: Nevada's Infant at Work Program by ASTHO

Advocacy Action

AAFP Position Paper on Breastfeeding

The AAFP released its extensively updated position paper in October, 2014, which includes the latest scientific evidence and recommendations with supporting materials in appendices. This improved position paper is easier to use, reference, and with fewer pages.

Read the Paper

Making the Case - Benefits for Supporting Breastfeeding Moms Returning to Work

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has developed resources that can help you make the case for breastfeeding support for employers, healthcare professionals, and employees:

• Business Case for Breastfeeding
• The Business Case for Breastfeeding: Employee's Guide to Breastfeeding and Working 
• The Business Case for Breastfeeding: Easy Steps to Supporting Breastfeeding Employees

Science & Education

Importance of Growth Charts

The WHO standards establish growth of the breastfed infant as the norm for growth, for at least 4 months and up to 12 months.

United States Breastfeeding Coalition's (USBC) Core Competencies

The USBC is an independent nonprofit coalition of more than 40 nationally influential organizations. Its mission is to improve the nation’s health by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. The USBC’s Core Competencies were developed to be used as a guideline to integrate evidence-based breastfeeding into every day practice. The USBC Core Competencies are endorsed by the AAFP.