Breastfeeding Guidelines Now Available on US Gov’t Website
By Karla Shepard Rubinger,
Executive Director, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine,
Tel:(914) 740-2100, ext. 2153,
Email: abm@bfmed.org
The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine’s (ABM) clinical protocols for the care of breastfeeding mothers and infants are now available for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals on the US National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) website.
The US NGC, an initiative of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the federal agency responsible for improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of healthcare, offers providers a comprehensive database of clinical practice guidelines covering a wide range of diseases and conditions, from “animal diseases” to “viral diseases.” Essentially these guidelines serve as prescriptions to assist providers in the delivery of healthcare.
Now, with the twelve newly listed ABM protocols on the NGC website, providers have breastfeeding recommendations, strategies, and other information at their fingertips, contributing to appropriate and standardized postpartum care. It is well-documented that optimal breastfeeding practices are associated with health benefits for both infant and mother.
“ABM are excited to be involved and associated with NGC, and ABM looks forward to continuing to serve the community of healthcare professionals by providing tools to enable the best possible care of breastfeeding families,” says Kathie Marinelli, MD, FABM, Co-Chair of the ABM Protocol Committee.
According to Cynthia Howard, MD, MPH, FABM, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester, and member of the ABM Executive Committee, “NGC acceptance is a mark of the high quality of ABM protocols.” In particular, ABM protocols are developed by multidisciplinary teams of physicians who have expertise in the field, and are based on a rigorous review of the medical literature.
The development, dissemination, and use of current clinical practice guidelines remains a priority for ABM. As the only international organization of physicians in this field, ABM also provides translations of many protocols into Spanish, Korean, Chinese, and German, as well as English.
The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (www.bfmed.org) is a worldwide organization of physicians dedicated to the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding and human lactation through education, research, and advocacy. An independent, self-sustaining, international physician organization and the only organization of its kind, ABM’ s mission is to unite members of various medical specialties through physician education, expansion of knowledge in breastfeeding science and human lactation, facilitation of optimal breastfeeding practices, and encouragement of the exchange of information among organizations.
For more information on the National Guideline Clearinghouse, and for a complete list of the ABM Protocol Guideline Collection please visit www.guideline.gov.
