Early Childhood Nutrition & Chest/Breastfeeding
The First 1,000 Days: Infant & Toddler Nutrition Security
Communities across the United States are faced with persistent inequities in breastfeeding duration and nutrition insecurity. Suboptimal breastfeeding and nutrition insecurity can lead to negative short- and long-term health outcomes for infants, toddlers, and birthing parents, such as increased incidence of infection, diabetes, obesity, some cancers, and other chronic diseases. Many families discontinue chest/breastfeeding prematurely due to many reasons that could be solved with continuity of care through the first 1,000 days of life.
Through the Reducing Breastfeeding Disparities through Continuity of Care project, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, NACCHO aims to improve local approaches to chest/breastfeeding protection, promotion, and support through continuity of care and infant and toddler nutrition security strategies.
Continuity of Care Resource Library
NACCHO has also created the Continuity of Care Resource Library, an online repository of continuity of care resources that local health departments and other stakeholders can use to implement the Blueprint recommendations in their communities. To view the library, please click here.
The Blueprint
NACCHO's Continuity of Care in Breastfeeding Support: A Blueprint for Communities ("Blueprint") was developed with a public health lens. This resource outlines recommendations that increase local capacity to implement community-driven approaches to support breastfeeding, and centers the needs of populations disproportionately impacted by structural barriers that lead to low breastfeeding rates. To learn more about the Blueprint, please click here.
Grantee Success Stories
NACCHO has funded local communities to implement the Continuity of Care in Breastfeeding Support Blueprint to strengthen community lactation support, services, and other strategies to improve infant and toddler nutrition.
To view success stories from Blueprint Cohort I and Blueprint Cohort II, click here.
Capacity Briefs
Infant and Toddler Nutrition Security - Series of Briefs
This 4-part brief series presents the summary findings of the NACCHO's Improving Infant and Young Child Nutrition Convenings Report. It also includes recent literature from the American Journal of Public Health – Nutrition in the First 1000 Days special edition and other community interventions. These briefs can be used by any stakeholder that interacts with pregnant and postpartum families. To view the Introduction to Briefs, click here.
Blueprint Cohort III - Current Grantees
2023 – 2024: Bridging Breastfeeding Continuity of Care and Nutrition Security within the First 1,000 Days
NACCHO awarded nine (9) communities to improve infant and toddler nutrition by strengthening community lactation support and other strategies to advance the local nutrition security landscape within the first 1,000 days. All grantees work with at least two partners to improve nutrition security of infants and toddlers. This project started in November 2023 and will end in July 2024. Click here to read more about each grantee project.
OUR LATEST WEBINAR
“Beyond Baby’s Highchair Improving Infant & Toddler Nutrition Security” (March 20, 2024)
With funding support from the CDC's Division of Nutrition Physical Activity and Obesity (CDC-DNPAO), NACCHO worked alongside local communities in the United States to implement successful outcome-driven strategies to improve infant and toddler nutrition security. This session showcased newly released resources for African, Black, Caribbean, and Spanish-speaking families and discussed the current process for the development of resources for communities in Arabic, Kurdish, Pashto, Dari, Indian, and Punjabi-speaking families, which will be completed by July 2024. In addition, speakers provided an overview of recently published resources by national partners related to the first 1,000 days of nutrition.
"Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies: Community Preparedness Systems to Keep Babies Safe" (November 1, 2023)
The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) cohosted a webinar on the CDC Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) Toolkit. Participants learned how Jefferson County Public Health partnered with their Medical Reserve Corps unit and community members to integrate pregnant people, families, and infants into Emergency Preparedness Planning.
- Click here to view a recording of the webinar.
- Click here to view the Webinar Resource Guide.
- Click here to earn CERPS/CPEUs.
"Improving Nutrition Security for Infants and Toddlers in Communities of Color Webinar" (March 16, 2023)
During this webinar, the NACCHO provided an overview of the landscape of the first 1,000 days of nutrition in the United States. Webinar attendees also directly heard from culturally diverse nutrition professionals about their projects to diversify the infant and toddler dietary guidelines.
- Click here to watch the recording of the webinar.
- Click here to view the Webinar Resource Guide.
- Click here to earn CERPS/CPEUs.
Every Step of the Way through the First 1,000 Days - Webinar Series
During this 8-part webinar series, NACCHO provided an overview of the different strategies in the Continuity of Care Blueprint. The goal of the webinar series was to increase the knowledge of continuity of care in breastfeeding practices and help improve infant and toddler health. To learn more about each session and available continuing education credits, please view the information below.
| Title/Topic | Content | Links | CDC CE Information | CERPS and CPEU Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8 - Demystifying Infant Feeding Data to Strengthen Continuity of Care (CoC) (Livestreamed on June 28, 2023) | Developing a shared community breastfeeding database system to consistently track infant feeding. | View the recording | Instructions for CDC Continuing Education - WEB ON DEMAND - expires on August 1, 2025. | Post Test for CERPs and CPEUs - Link to receive credits available until June 23, 2024. |
| #7 - Breastfeeding Champions as Community Changemakers (Livestreamed on April 11, 2023) | Assuming a community champion role, beyond the provision of direct services, by identifying and engaging key stakeholders to identify and help remove structural barriers to chest/breastfeeding within systems, organizations, and the community. | View the recording, and the Webinar Resource Guide | Instructions for CDC Continuing Education - WEB ON DEMAND - expires on May 16, 2025. | CERPs and CPEUs are no longer available for this webinar. |
| #6 - Relating to the Family Unit and their Social Determinants of Health in Chest/Breastfeeding Support (Livestreamed on January 12, 2023) | Relational continuity, cultural humility, family-centered lactation care, understanding the intersectionality of families, and how social determinants of health impact an infant's feeding journey. | View the recording | Instructions for CDC Continuing Education - WEB ON DEMAND - expires on February 15, 2025. | CERPs and CPEUs are no longer available for this webinar. |
| #5 - Building Community Workforce Capacity to Equitably Support Chest/Breastfeeding (Livestreamed on September 13, 2022) | Equitably increasing community capacity to provide consistent, tailored, evidence-based lactation education and support by regularly training all individuals who provide services to the family unit. | View the recording | Instructions for CDC Continuing Education - expires September 24, 2024. | CERPs and CPEUs are no longer available for this webinar. |
| #4 - Lactation Care with Warm Hand-offs and Referral Accountability (Livestreamed on May 24, 2022) | This is Webinar 4 of our 8-part Continuity of Care webinar series, #EveryStepoftheWay through the 1,000 Days. | View the recording | Instructions for CDC Continuing Education - expires May 24, 2024. | CERPs and CPEUs are no longer available for this webinar. |
| #3 - Advancing Continuity of Care through Lactation-friendly Environments and Breastfeeding Policies, Systems and Environmental (PSE) Solutions (Livestreamed on February 28, 2022) | This is Webinar 3 of our 8-part Continuity of Care webinar series, #EveryStepoftheWay through the 1,000 Days. | View the recording | RENEWED - Instructions for CDC Continuing Education - expires April 2, 2026. | CERPs and CPEUs are no longer available for this webinar. |
| #2 - Improving Community Health through Continuity of Care in Chest/Breastfeeding Support (Livestreamed on November 8, 2021) | This is Webinar 2 of our 8-part Continuity of Care webinar series, #EveryStepoftheWay through the 1,000 Days. | View the recording | RENEWED - Instructions for CDC Continuing Education - expires December 21, 2025 | CERPs and CPEUs are no longer available for this webinar. |
| #1 - Continuity of Care in Breastfeeding Support Blueprint Launch (Livestreamed on August 24, 2021) | This is Webinar 1 of our 8-part Continuity of Care webinar series, #EveryStepoftheWay through the 1,000 Days. | View the recording | RENEWED - Instructions for CDC Continuing Education - expires September 24, 2025 | CERPs and CPEUs are no longer available for this webinar. |
Culturally Responsive Nutrition Materials
Click here to view all the resources in NACCHO's resource guide!
- African, Black, and Caribbean Families
Please click here to access the educational handout for African, Black, and Caribbean communities. Please click here to access the social media toolkit for African, Black, and Caribbean communities. Finally, a nutrition assistance resource directory is also available on this website. - Chinese/Vietnamese Families
Please click here to access the educational handouts in English, Chinese, and Vietnamese. Please click here to access the social media toolkits in English, Chinese, and Vietnamese. Finally, the nutrition assistance resource directories in English, Chinese, and Vietnamese are also available on this website. - Latine Families
Please click here to access the educational handout for Spanish-speaking communities in English and Spanish. Please click here to access the nutrition assistance resource directories, also available in both English and Spanish. Finally, click here to access the social media toolkits in both English and Spanish.
Other Resources
- Lactation Equity & Inclusive Language Toolkit
This toolkit will be available soon. - Continuity of Care Resource Library
NACCHO has also created the Continuity of Care Resource Library, an online repository of continuity of care resources that local health departments and other stakeholders can use to implement the Blueprint recommendations in their communities. To view the library, please click here.
Blueprint Success Stories
Blueprint Success Stories
With support from the CDC-DNPAO, NACCHO has also awarded communities with funding to implement the Continuity of Care in Breastfeeding Support Blueprint to strengthen community lactation support and other strategies to improve infant and toddler health.
Click here to read the latest success story from Knox County Health Department and Sauk County Health Department about one of these communities. To read past success stories, please click here.
National Breastfeeding Public Health Partners (BPHP)
Convened in 2014, the Breastfeeding Public Health Partners (BPHP) is a group of national organizations that collaborate in the public health field to improve the health and overall well-being of infants, children, and families. This work happens through individual and collective efforts to establish and support infant feeding practices that align with public health imperatives and address disparities across racial and demographic indicators. The active partnership meets bi-monthly, to share organizational updates, leverage efforts, and strategize collaboration to tackle structural issues that lead to inequities in breastfeeding rates within maternity care practices and in state/community continuity of care, and within the inequitable access to lactation support and accommodation services.
Upcoming Resource: BPHP developed the Lactation Equity & Inclusive Language Toolkit, soon to be launched via webinar.
MyPlate Strategic Partners
NACCHO has been actively involved in MyPlate National Strategic Partners, a group that supports the CDC and USDA in promoting Chapter 2 of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is dedicated to infants and toddlers. In alignment with the recommendations from Chapter 2, NACCHO has co-created culturally diverse nutrition materials for infants and toddlers with input from communities. Materials are developed for communities that identify as Chinese, Vietnamese, Latine, African, Black, and Caribbean. These materials include educational handouts, social media toolkits, and resource directories.
National Collaborative of Infants & Toddlers (NCIT)
NACCHO is an active member of the NCIT, a collaborative that is committed to ensuring that every child, from prenatal stages to the age of 3 years-old, and their families, have what they need to thrive. You can learn more about NCIT here.
United States Breastfeeding Committee (U.S. Breastfeeding Committee)
The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) is a national coalition of 140 organizational members representing nonprofits (national, state, local, and community), breastfeeding coalitions, and federal agencies working to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding and human milk feeding. As a backbone institution, the USBC uses an equity-centered collective impact approach to manage multi-sectoral collaborations.
USBC is an active member of the National Breastfeeding Public Health Partners.
There are currently no funding opportunities available at this time. Please check this webpage in August 2024.
Subscribe to the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Newsletter, click here.
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is committed to elevating information-sharing pathways at the national level to inform and support NACCHO’s membership networks in local communities. The Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Newsletter supports these efforts by sharing similar content from Breastfeeding in the Community, such as successes, funding opportunities, resources, trainings, webinars, and national observances. The newsletter also includes opportunities to connect with the MCAH Team at conferences and summits to continue engaging local health departments (LHDs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) throughout the year.
To subscribe, please log in to your My NACCHO account. If you do not have a “My NACCHO” account, please email [email protected].
- Once logged on click on “My Subscriptions” in the left navigation menu
- Check the box for “Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Newsletter”
- Click “Save” at the bottom of the page
If you have any further questions, please email [email protected].