BILL NUMBER: SB 502	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 15, 2011
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 25, 2011
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 24, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senators Pavley and De León
   (Coauthor: Senator Alquist)

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2011

   An act to add Section 123366 to the Health and Safety Code,
relating to public health.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 502, as amended, Pavley. Hospital Infant Feeding Act.
   Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health
facilities, including hospitals, by the State Department of Public
Health. Existing law requires all general acute care hospitals and
special hospitals providing maternity care to make available a
 breast-feeding   breastfeeding 
consultant, or alternatively, to provide information to the mother on
where to receive  breast-feeding  
breastfeeding  information.
   This bill would require all general acute care hospitals and
special hospitals that have perinatal units, as defined, to have an
infant-feeding policy and to clearly post that policy  in the
perinatal unit or on the hospital's   Web site  . This
bill would require that the infant-feeding policy be routinely
communicated to  all  perinatal unit staff and that
the infant-feeding policy apply to all infants in a perinatal unit.
This bill would become operative January 1, 2014.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) A growing body of evidence indicates that early infant-feeding
practices can affect later growth and development, particularly with
regard to obesity.
   (b) The United States Surgeon General, and all the major health
organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the
World Health Organization, recommend exclusive 
breast-feeding   breastfeeding  for most babies,
unless specifically contraindicated, for the first six months and
continued  breast-feeding  breastfeeding 
with the addition of appropriate foods up to at least one year of
age.
   (c) The United States Healthy People 2020 goals for breastfeeding
set new targets for decreased formula supplementation within the
first two days of life and increased number of births in facilities
that provide recommended lactation care.
   (d) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitor
hospital practices at the state and national level with the
Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) survey.
Whereas mPINC benchmarks suggest that 10 percent or fewer of
breast-feeding infants should receive supplemental formula, fewer
than 10 percent of California hospitals reach that goal.
   (e) The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a global
program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to encourage and recognize
hospitals that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding.
Baby-Friendly USA is the national authority for the BFHI in the
United States. To date, 34 hospitals in California have received
Baby-Friendly  USA  accreditation.
   (f) In April 2010, the Joint Commission, the accreditation
organization for hospitals, began including exclusive breast-feeding
rates as part of its perinatal care core evaluation indicators for
maternity hospitals.
  SEC. 2.  Section 123366 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   123366.  (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited as, the
Hospital Infant Feeding Act.
   (b) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
shall apply:
   (1) "Perinatal unit" means a maternity and newborn service of the
hospital for the provision of care during pregnancy, labor, delivery,
and postpartum and neonatal periods with appropriate staff, space,
equipment, and supplies.
   (2) "Baby-Friendly Hospitals" means facilities that have been
awarded accreditation by Baby-Friendly USA, the national authority
for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative sponsored by the World
Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund.
   (3) "Model Hospital Policy Recommendations" means the most
recently updated guidelines approved and published by the State
Department of Public Health entitled, "Providing Breastfeeding
Support: Model Hospital Policy Recommendations."
   (c) All general acute care hospitals and special hospitals, as
defined in subdivisions (a) and (f) of Section 1250, that have a
perinatal unit shall have an infant-feeding policy  and shall
clearly post that policy  . The infant-feeding policy
 may include the guidelines   shall promote
breastfeeding, utilizing guidance  provided by the Baby-Friendly
Hospital Initiative or the State Department of Public Health Model
Hospital Policy Recommendations.  The infant-feeding policy may
include guidance on formula supplementation or bottlefeeding, if
preferred by the mother or when exclusive breastfeeding is
contraindicated for the mother or infant. 
   (d) The infant-feeding policy shall be routinely communicated
 to all perinatal unit staff.   to perinatal
unit staff, beginning with hospital orientation, and shall be clearly
posted in the perinatal unit or on the hospital's Web site. 
   (e) The infant-feeding policy shall apply to all infants in a
perinatal unit.
   (f) This section shall become operative January 1, 2014.