Breast-feeding and public policy in Australia

The ways in which breast-feeding has been manifest in public policy at the Australian national level and for the state of Victoria are described. An examination of health policy documents which consider breast-feeding reveals that it has been conceptualized almost exclusively as a nutritional issue and incorporated into initiatives connected with dietary guidelines developed to prevent diet-related diseases. This has occurred despite the World Health Organization's identification of the wider socio-economic issues surrounding breast-feeding. The authors accept that the nutritional aspects of breast-feeding are undoubtedly important but contend that a range of non-nutritional considerations play a crucial role in infant feeding choice. Social, economic, cultural and environmental factors need to be acknowledged by those making policy if breast-feeding promotional strategies are to be made more effective. The particular issues raised in this analysis of the Australian experience have general relevance for those formulating breastfeeding policy and implementing breast-feeding programmes elsewhere.

Breast feeding · Breastfeeding · Business · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Focus group · Political science · Public health · Public policy · Public relations · Relevance (law) · Breastfeeding Practices and Influences · Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Marketing · Medicine · Nursing · Pediatrics

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