Jones & Bartlett Learning Nursing Blog

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health promotion "enables people to increase control over their own health. It covers a wide range of social and environmental interventions that are designed to benefit and protect individual people’s health and quality of life by addressing and preventing the root causes of ill health, not just focusing on treatment and cure." As such, health promotion has long been a central part of nursing practice. Increasingly, nurses have needed to adopt an active role in promoting the health of individuals, families, communities, and nations.

Topics: Bonnie Raingruber, health promotion, Healthy People 2020, Navigate, New Edition, nursing, world health organization

Have you been looking for a current, trusted, and accessible resource for working with breastfeeding women and their families? We just published Quick Reference for the Lactation Professional, Second Edition by Judith Lauwers.

An invaluable tool for clinicians, educators, students, and interns, each chapter includes clinical management strategies, key clinical competencies, and tutorials that test comprehension and clinical application with short answer questions and counselling scenarios.

Topics: breastfeeding, breastfeeding, Judith Lauwers, lactation, lactation, New Edition, world health organization

With the recent tragic events in Orlando, people have been lining up to donate blood to help the victims of the attack. Today also marks World Blood Donor Day, a yearly campaign from the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness for the importance of donating blood that saves lives in communities all over the world. This year’s theme is “Blood connects us all.”

Topics: nursing, World Blood Donor Day, world health organization

It's World Breastfeeding Week! Coordinated by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) and celebrated in more than 176 countries, World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) recognizes the importance of promoting breastfeeding worldwide. This year's theme is “Breastfeeding and Work: Let’s Make It Work!”

Topics: baby-friendly, breastfeeding, breastfeeding, lactation, lactation, lactation consultant, nursing, WBW, World Breastfeeding Week, world health organization

Our Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding online course just keeps getting better. Created specifically to support the implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, it is an essential resource for educating your staff to reach Baby-Friendly status.

Topics: baby-friendly, breastfeeding, breastfeeding, lactation consultant, New Edition, nursing, Recently Published, ten steps to successful breastfeeding, UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, Women's Health, world health organization

The just released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Breastfeeding Report Card shows that breastfeeding rates in the U.S. are increasing. From 2000 to 2010, the number of babies who started breastfeeding increased from 71% to 77%. In fact, the report shows that among "infants born in 2010, 49% were breastfeeding at 6 months, up from 35% in 2000. The breastfeeding rate at 12 months increased from 16% to 27% during that same time period."

Topics: baby-friendly, breastfeeding, Breastfeeding Report Card, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lactation consultant, ten steps to successful breastfeeding, world health organization

Today marks the beginning of the 21st annual World Breastfeeding Week. Celebrated in more than 170 countries, World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) recognizes the essential work of breastfeeding advocates, educators, and lactation consultants who protect, promote, and support breastfeeding worldwide. This year’s theme is "Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers," highlighting breastfeeding peer counseling.

Topics: baby-friendly, breastfeeding, breastfeeding, La Leche International, lactation, lactation, lactation consultant, WBW, World Breastfeeding Week, world health organization

Topics: baby-friendly, breast feeding, breastfeeding, breastfeeding, ceu, CME, continuing education unit, l-cerp, lactation, lactation, lactation consultant, world health organization

This week, World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) celebrates its 20th anniversary. Commemorated in more than 170 countries, WBW promotes the significant benefits of breastfeeding and recognizes the important work of breastfeeding advocates and educators across the world. This year's theme is "Understanding the Past - Planning the Future: Celebrating 10 years of WHO/UNICEF's Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding."

Topics: baby-friendly, breastfeeding, breastfeeding, lactation, lactation consultant, WBW, World Breastfeeding Week, world health organization

Earlier this month, Massachusetts became the second US state to ban infant formula gift bags. Dr. Lauren Smith, Medical Director of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health told Boston.com that, “We applaud the effort of all of the hospitals to make this explicit statement of their support of breastfeeding here in the Commonwealth.”

According to the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition,

“In 2005, nearly all maternity facilities in the state were giving out discharge bags from formula companies. The marketing technique is particularly effective in lowering breastfeeding rates in part because of the implied endorsement of the hospital and health professionals. The bags often come with a requirement that hospitals get their formula for free, which contributes greatly to unnecessary use of formula by breastfeeding mothers. Research has consistently shown that such use is one of the strongest predictors of early breastfeeding failure— with a resultant increase in formula sales.”

Last fall, UMass Memorial Medical Center decided to stop distributing formula bags due to institutional pressure to avoid corporate marketing on hospital materials. Dr. Ellen Delpapa, Medical Director, Labor and Delivery told Boston.com that, “We now give women a free canvas bag with our hospital ­logo, but it doesn’t have anything in it. So far, we’ve had no complaints; no one has missed the formula.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that mothers breastfeed exclusively for the first six months to provide babies with protection against respiratory illnesses, ear infections, gastrointestinal diseases, and allergies. Breastfed babies also have a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome and a reduced likelihood for obesity.

Topics: baby-friendly, breastfeeding, breastfeeding, ceu, continuing education unit, l-cerp, lactation, lactation consultant, world health organization