Nutrition: Breastfeeding Resources

Wisconsin Breastfeeding Support

Breastfeeding provides important health benefits for children and parents. Whether you are preparing for a baby's arrival, learning to breastfeed, returning to work, or supporting a family's infant feeding goals, access to trusted information and support can make a meaningful difference.

This page connects families, health care professionals, employers, childcare providers, and community partners with reliable breastfeeding and lactation resources. Explore the sections to find evidence-based information, support services, and tools that promote, protect, and support breastfeeding while helping families make informed infant feeding decisions.

Your right to breast-feed

Wis. Stat. § 253.165 says, "A mother may breast-feed her child in any public or private location where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be. In such a location, no person may prohibit a mother from breast-feeding her child, direct a mother to move to a different location to breast-feed her child, direct a mother to cover her child or breast while breast-feeding, or otherwise restrict a mother from breast-feeding her child as provided in this section."

The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee maintains a listing of existing legislation that supports lactating families, including federal laws and links to sources for state-level legislative information.

Access resources tailored to your needs

Families: Learn and prepare for your infant feeding plans

• National Maternal Health Hotline—Free, confidential, support available 24/7 with options to connect via text, call, or chat.
• National Women's Health and Breastfeeding Helpline—Talk with a health information specialist in English or Spanish between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, at 1-800-994-9662.
• Making the decision to breastfeed—Explore feeding options and choose an approach that is right for your family
• Breastfeeding benefits both babies and mothers—Recommendations and guidance from the Office of Women's Health.
• Returning to work and breastfeeding—Get advice to prepare to return to your workplace while providing breast milk for your baby.
• Returning to school and breastfeeding—Get advice to prepare to return to school while providing breastmilk for your baby.
• Understanding Protections for Pregnant and Lactating Workers—Understand workplace rights and protections for pregnant and nursing workers.
• Mother’s Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes—Learn about donating or receiving screened donor human milk for eligible infants.

Health care providers and community supporters: Trusted guidance from lactation experts

• The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) is a global organization of physicians and healthcare providers dedicated to lactation success. The ABM publishes evidence-based clinical protocols, position statements, and expert educational materials for use in standards of care in lactation.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an authority on breastfeeding guidelines, policies, and educational resources featuring expert recommendations on infant nutrition and lactation support.
• The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) provides access to data, breastfeeding guidance, and educational materials, including toolkits and fact sheets.
• The Institute for the Advancement of Breastfeeding & Lactation Education (IABLE) aims to optimize support for lactating families in outpatient settings through the training of providers and the development of educational resources for provider use.
• The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding outlines actionable steps for communities, employers, hospitals and healthcare providers to ensure every person who wishes to breastfeed has the support to do so successfully.
• Nourishing Thriving Communities: A National Plan for First Foods, Breastfeeding, and Lactation Support Through Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change translates evidence-informed priorities into a practical framework for implementation, centered on community partnerships and cross-sector collaboration.
• The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) is a national coalition of more than 130 organizations that work collaboratively to drive efforts for policy and practice of breastfeeding support across the United States. The coalition serves as a key organizer for work happening around lactation across the country.
• The Wisconsin Association of Lactation Consultants offers lactation continuing education opportunities and supports networking between lactation consultants across the state.
• Mother’s Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes serves as a regional resource for donor human milk, supporting hospitals, clinics, and eligible infants.

Employers, employees, schools, and students: Best practices to support breastfeeding and a family-friendly environment at work or school

• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) protections for employees to pump breast milk at work.
• The Business Case for Breastfeeding offers tools to help employers provide lactation support for employees and highlights how such support contributes to business success.
• Supporting Nursing Moms at Work provides a wealth of resources for employers and employees about workplace nursing.
• Workplace Lactation Accommodations: Employer Toolkit includes helpful resources to establish lactation spaces, a workplace policy template, and frequently asked questions.
• Guidelines for faculty explain how to support pregnant and parenting students.
• Responsibilities of academic administrators outline resources to fulfill requirements of Title IX.

Wisconsin statewide partnerships and programs

These programs partner and collaborate to support breastfeeding success for families.

Maternal and Child Health Program (Title V)

Strives to improve the health and well-being of mothers, infants, children, and youth, and their families. This includes children and youth with special health care needs.

State Physical Activity and Nutrition Program (SPAN)

Offers resources to help assess, strengthen, and implement evidence-based breastfeeding practices to create more supportive environments.

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program

Provides personalized breastfeeding education and support by trained breastfeeding experts and peer counselors starting in pregnancy and beyond.

Department of Children and Families: Family Foundations Home Visiting Program

Supports pregnant women and families with a child under age 5.

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Data and reports

• Wisconsin Breastfeeding Landscape Report, P-03717 (PDF)—analysis of infant feeding demographics, hospital practices, and lactation support
• Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC™) Survey—provides information that informs hospitals and partners how to improve maternity care practices
• CDC's Early Childhood Nutrition Report—a national summary and individual state reports highlighting 16 indicators covering breastfeeding, supports for infant feeding, first solid foods, nutritious eating, and affordability of nutritious foods
• CDC Breastfeeding Data—annual breastfeeding rate data from the National Immunization Survey-Child data
• CDC's Data, Trends, and Maps—interactive databases featuring data about the health status and behaviors of Americans
• WIC Breastfeeding Performance Data Reports—fiscal year breastfeeding measures by state and local agencies to monitor breastfeeding trends and support performance assessment
• Healthy People 2030 Report for infants through age 6 months—proportion of infants who are breastfed at six months
• Healthy People 2030 Report for infants through one year —proportion of infants who are breastfed at one year
• Wisconsin Maternal Health Data—a collection of data related to pregnancy and maternal health in Wisconsin