WHEREAS, human milk feeding is a proven primary prevention strategy that builds a foundation for lifelong health and wellness; and

WHEREAS, the American Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization recommend exclusive breastfeeding for about the first six months of life, with continued breastfeeding while introducing complementary foods for two years or as long as mutually desired by the mother and child; and

WHEREAS, breastfeeding has been shown to lower an infant’s risk of Asthma, Type 1 Diabetes and other diseases, while at the same time lowering a mother’s risk of High Blood Pressure, Breast Cancer, and more; and

WHEREAS, a recent U.S. CDC analysis shows that 89.4 percent of Maine infants born in 2019 were breastfed at some point; and

WHEREAS, Maine exceeds the national average for exclusive breastfeeding at six and twelve months, though it falls short of the targets set by the U.S. CDC’s Healthy People 2030 initiative; and

WHEREAS, public health initiatives should focus on the needs of lactating parents and the providers that serve them, especially in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) populations where there are reduced breastfeeding rates and an associated increase in risk for a variety of negative health outcomes; and

WHEREAS, though some people elect not to breastfeed or are unable to do so, all parents can benefit from access to education on infant nutrition and wellness; and

WHEREAS, the Maine State Breastfeeding Coalition is a broad network of people dedicated to reducing barriers to breastfeeding through education, advocacy, and connection throughout the State of Maine;

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the great State of Maine, do hereby proclaim the month of August 2023 as

Breastfeeding Month

throughout the State of Maine, and I urge all citizens to recognize the value of breastfeeding and help support mothers and their babies lead healthy lives.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this thirty first day of July Two Thousand Twenty-Three