Intervention Strategies > Breastfeeding

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Overview

Children who breastfeed are somewhat less likely to become obese. Therefore, increasing breastfeeding is a key target area for obesity prevention. Breastfeeding intervention strategies address every level of the socioecological model including:

• individual-level behavior change (e.g., educating mothers),
• interpersonal relationships (e.g., peer support),
• organizational policies or practices (e.g., maternity care practices),
• community environments (e.g., comprehensive breastfeeding programs), and
• social norms (e.g., media).

Generally, there is limited evidence as to the effectiveness of breastfeeding intervention strategies because of the small number of scientifically rigorous evaluations of breastfeeding programs. Therefore, public health practitioners should integrate available information regarding evidence-based intervention strategies with information obtained from social or needs assessment processes to develop, implement, and evaluate breastfeeding interventions.