Kaiser Permanente hospitals in the California cities of Hayward, South Sacramento, Fontana, Riverside and Downey, as well as hospitals in Honolulu, Hawaii and Clackamas, Ore. are recognized as Baby Friendly Hospitals by Baby-Friendly USA, the national authority for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in the United States. The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is a global effort to ensure hospital maternity services support breastfeeding.

Additionally, Kaiser Permanente supports research into the benefits of breastfeeding and in the past year has had two researchers published on the topic.

A study published in the February issue of Diabetes found that breastfeeding a child may protect women from metabolic syndrome, a condition linked to diabetes and heart disease. The protective association was even stronger for women who had gestational diabetes during pregnancy, according to the study's lead author, Erica Gunderson, PhD, an epidemiologist and research scientist at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research  in Oakland, Calif. xnet.kp/newscenter/pressreleases/nat/2009/120309breastfeedingbenefits.htmlA study published in the August issue of the Archives of Neurology found that breastfeeding may benefit mothers with multiple sclerosis. Women with multiple sclerosis who breastfeed exclusively for at least two months appear less likely to experience a relapse within a year after their baby's birth. Neurologist Annette Langer-Gould, MD, Ph.D., lead author of the study conducted while at Stanford University, is now a researcher with Kaiser Permanente's Department of Research and Evaluation in Pasadena, Calif.

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente