CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION in support of the Seventy-first World Health Assembly resolution on infant and young child feeding, affirming The City of Seattle's recognition of breastfeeding as critical to infant and maternal health.
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WHEREAS, breastfeeding has been proven to reduce neonatal mortality, and is associated with improved nutritional, developmental, immunological, and social outcomes; and
WHEREAS, breastfeeding is linked to faster recovery from childbirth and reduced risk of acute and chronic conditions such as breast and ovarian cancers, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity; and
WHEREAS, suboptimal breastfeeding is associated with numerous adverse child health outcomes including frequent diarrhea, pneumonia, and increased mortality; and
WHEREAS, failure to promote breastfeeding coupled with inadequate attention to the safety of replacement formulas can have serious health consequences; and
WHEREAS, a 2010 analysis in Pediatrics estimates $13 billion in savings per year in the U.S. if 90 percent of families breastfeed exclusively for six months; and
WHEREAS, a 2013 study in The Lancet estimates that thirteen percent of all child deaths in lower-income countries can be prevented if breastfeeding is increased to optimal levels, and that over 800,000 infant deaths that occurred in 2010 are attributable to suboptimal breastfeeding; and
WHEREAS, international concern about declining rates of breastfeeding in the 1970s led health authorities to make a concerted effort to promote breastfeeding; and
WHEREAS, in 1981 the World Health Organization adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, which includes provisions preventing hospitals and birthing centers from accepting free or low-cost infant formula, providing free samples of infant formula to families, or advertising breast-milk substitutes; and
WHEREAS, over 500 hospitals and birthing centers nationwide have...
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