Breastfeeding Researcher Shares Expertise with Hawaii Nursing Community

March 19, 2013 — CHOP Lactation Director Diane Spatz, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN, shared her breastfeeding knowledge and research with the University of Hawaii at Manoa's community of nursing educators and nursing students.

“The lack of exclusive breastfeeding in the U.S. is a public health crisis,” said Spatz, UH Manoa Nursing Frances A. Matsuda Visiting Scholar in Women’s Health.

The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, yet only 20 percent of infants in Hawaii receive exclusive breast milk during this important time in a child’s life. Exclusive breastfeeding — the infant only receives breast milk without any additional food or drink, not even water — for the first six months of an infant’s life has a long term benefit as it decreases the risk of serious disease such as Type 2 diabetes, childhood leukemia, and risk of obesity.

Read more in a press release from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.