Department of Health | Nutrition and Fitness

Services and Support

Additional Resources from New Jersey WIC

The New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) encourages all women to exclusively breastfeed unless there is a medical reason for the woman or baby not to breastfeed. WIC provides breastfeeding services and support for income eligible women who are pregnant and post-partum.

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Did You Know?

Exclusive breastfeeding reduces the risk of being overweight as a child, decreases the number of infections in infants and protects children against obesity and other chronic diseases?
In addition to benefits for the infant, there are health benefits for the nursing mother including returning to a healthy weight and bonding with her baby?
Hospitals play a crucial role in helping mothers breastfeed exclusively and for a longer duration?
Mothers who deliver babies in hospitals that make breastfeeding-friendly changes in their policies, practices and overall physical structure of their maternity wards tend to breastfeed their children for longer than mothers who deliver in other facilities?

Breastfeeding

The Work of NJ Department of Health

The Department of Health co-brands Healthy Beginnings NJ and funds the New Jersey Hospital Association to provide tailored technical assistance to 18 maternity hospitals in implementing the WHO/UNICEF’s “10 Steps to Breastfeeding Success” to promote exclusive and sustained breastfeeding.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a global program that was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 1991 to encourage and recognize hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding and mother/baby bonding. It recognizes and awards birthing facilities who successfully implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

How is New Jersey Doing?

CDC’s national survey of Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) is administered every two years to monitor and examine changes in practices over time at all hospitals and birth centers with registered maternity beds in the United States and Territories. The most recent report shows New Jersey is seeing significant progress in improving breastfeeding practices