Highlights NJ Supports Breastfeeding Initiative Progress, New Website, and Media Toolkit

TRENTON, NJ - In honor of National Breastfeeding Month, celebrated every year throughout August, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) is highlighting recent progress on the NJ Breastfeeding Strategic Plan. This year’s theme, “Forward Together,” centers on unity, solidarity, and hope, and celebrates the organizations and advocates that are committed to advancing policy and systems related to breastfeeding as well as equitable access to human milk.

Early efforts to strengthen breastfeeding support and promotion in New Jersey began in January 2021 when First Lady Tammy Murphy launched the Nurture NJ Maternal and Infant Health Strategic Plan. This led to the development of the 2022 - 2027 New Jersey Breastfeeding Strategic Plan, a comprehensive blueprint outlining actions stakeholders across the State can take to enhance lactation support and normalize breastfeeding. The Strategic Plan is implemented through a collaboration between the Central Jersey Family Health Consortium and NJDOH.

“Through Nurture NJ’s strategic investments, we are closing gaps in access to quality care and ensuring New Jersey’s moms and babies are supported during every stage of their journey – from pregnancy to infancy and the early days of parenthood,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy. “Breastfeeding is immensely beneficial for both mother and baby, helping to both provide critical nutrition and lower the risk of serious illness. That is why we are committed to bolstering support for new parents and ensuring they have access to trusted, evidence-based breastfeeding information and statewide lactation support resources.”

“Breastfeeding offers both nutritional and immunity benefits to babies and new moms,” said Acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown, “When new parents are supported by those around them – including their families, communities, and workplaces – they are more likely to achieve their personal breastfeeding goals.”

From NJ Breastfeeding Strategic Plan emerged the New Jersey Supports Breastfeeding initiative, designed to serve as a one-stop shop for breastfeeding resources and support for professionals, parents, families, and communities. Launched on July 31, 2025, in time for National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, NJSupportsBreastfeeding.org is part of this initiative to serve as a centralized hub for breastfeeding education and support, empowering families with accessible evidence-based breastfeeding information and statewide resources.

Available in 12 languages, the website offers a wide range of tools and information, including breastfeeding basics, guidance for returning to work, county-level support services, tips for partners and families, resources for employers and childcare providers, and tools for health care professionals.

Breastfeeding supports optimal growth and immunity for babies while reducing the risk of certain cancers, diabetes, and heart disease in mothers. Since 2021, exclusive breastfeeding rates at hospital discharge have increased slightly, and rates of combined feeding (breastfeeding and formula) have increased since 2016. The exclusive breastfeeding rate has increased by 2% from 2020 to 2023 and the combination feeding rate of breastfeeding and formula-feeding has increased by 10.7% from 2020 to 2023.

Data also show a steady increase in exclusive or combination feeding at discharge of Black, Hispanic, and Asian mothers.

Over the past year, other notable achievements across the Murphy Administration to enable breastfeeding include:

• Nursing mothers were exempted from jury duty under N.J.S.A. 2B:20-10.
• NJDOH recently completed public comment on comprehensive proposed rules to create a robust registration and accreditation system for human milk banks operating throughout the State. These rules would implement N.J.S.A. 26:2A-17, et seq., by establishing critical safety standards to protect vulnerable infants who rely on donor milk.
• The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) issued guidance to clarify the workplace accommodations the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) affords to employees for pregnancy, lactation, and related medical conditions.

The New Jersey Supports Breastfeeding initiative website is supported by $331,000 in FY2025 state funds for the breastfeeding strategic plan.

“Breastfeeding is a shared journey. Mothers are more likely to start and continue breastfeeding when key people in their lives – partners, parents, grandparents, friends, employers, health care providers – are informed and supportive,” said Nancy Scotto-Rosato, Executive Director, Maternal and Child Health, New Jersey Department of Health. “It truly takes a village. Creating communities that understand and encourage breastfeeding is essential.”

NJDOH remains deeply committed to ensuring all families have access to evidence-based breastfeeding education and accredited support services. The Department also proudly recognizes National Breastfeeding Month, along with the many cultural, global, and social observances that celebrate and promote breastfeeding.

• August 1-7: National WIC Breastfeeding Week
• August 1-7: World Breastfeeding Week
• August 8-14: Indigenous Milk Medicine Week
• August 15-21: Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Week
• August 22-24: Military Lactation Celebration
• August 25-31: Black Breastfeeding Week
• September 1-7: Workplace Lactation Week
• September 8-14: Latina/x Breastfeeding Week
• September 16-22: Deaf & Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Week

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The New Jersey Department of Health is a nationally accredited health department working to ensure that all New Jerseyans live long, healthy lives and reach their fullest potential. With more than 5,500 employees, the Department serves to protect the public’s health, promote healthy communities, and continue to improve the quality of health care in New Jersey.  

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