At a glance
CDC mPINC Survey Summary
CDC's national survey of Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) assesses maternity care practices in hospitals across the United States. It also provides feedback to encourage hospitals to improve breastfeeding support. About every two years, CDC invites all eligible hospitals across U.S. states and territories to complete the mPINC survey. The questions focus on specific maternity care practices that affect how babies are fed.
How can mPINC data be used?
Health care professionals and hospital administrators can use mPINC data to highlight their efforts to support breastfeeding. Health care professionals can also use the data to improve maternity care practices and policies to better support patients. Participating hospitals receive individualized, private reports that highlight specific areas where they can improve their care practices to better support breastfeeding.
Hospitals can email requests for their mPINC reports to mPINC@cdc.gov. Requests must be sent from an official hospital email address and include the hospital's name and full address.
State health departments and partners can use state mPINC data to support work with partner agencies, organizations, policy makers, and health professionals. The data can help to improve evidence-based maternity care practices and policies at hospitals in their state. Health departments can use their state's mPINC data to develop public health programs that support hospitals in implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. Data requests can be emailed to mPINC@cdc.gov. Learn more about mPINC data requests and confidentiality.
Overview: Maternity care practices
In the United States, nearly all infants are born in a hospital. Their stay is typically brief, but events during this time have lasting effects. Experiences with breastfeeding in the first hours and days of life significantly influence an infant’s later feeding. Several key supportive hospital practices can improve breastfeeding outcomes.
Before an infant is born, birth facility policies and practices that create a supportive environment for breastfeeding begin prenatally and continue through discharge. They include:
- Hospital policies: Written hospital policies that support breastfeeding and are communicated to staff and patients.
- Staff training: Hospital requires breastfeeding education, clinical training, and competency verification for all maternity staff who work with breastfeeding mothers.
- Immediate skin-to-skin contact: Babies are placed skin-to-skin with their mothers immediately after birth, with no bedding or clothing between them. Enough uninterrupted time (at least one hour) is provided for mother and baby to start breastfeeding well.
- Early and frequent breastfeeding: Hospital staff help mothers and babies start breastfeeding as soon as possible after birth, with many opportunities to practice throughout the hospital stay.
- Teaching about breastfeeding: Hospital staff teach mothers how to breastfeed and how to recognize and respond to baby's feeding cues.
- Exclusive breastfeeding: Hospital staff follow current evidence-based protocols for breastfeeding infants and provide supplementary feedings only when medically necessary.
- Rooming-in: Hospital staff enable mothers and babies to room together. Hospital staff perform routine procedures such as exams, screenings, and newborn bath in the mother's room, providing more opportunities to practice breastfeeding and learn their infant's feeding cues.
- Follow-up after discharge: Hospital staff schedule follow-up visits for mothers and babies after they go home and connect them to community breastfeeding resources.