The period from birth until a child’s second birthday is critical for proper development, and for establishing healthy dietary patterns that may influence health throughout the life course. Human milk is the ideal first food as it is uniquely suited for infants’ optimal growth, and it also has a substantial impact on the mothers' health, which makes breastfeeding support critical for improving community health. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended until 6 months of age, with appropriate introduction of nutrient-dense complementary foods. Many families discontinue breastfeeding prematurely due to many reasons that could be solved with continuity of care in breastfeeding support through the 1,000 days within communities. NACCHO aims to improve local approaches to breastfeeding protection, promotion, and support through the advancement of continuity of care in optimal infant and toddler feeding.

Through training webinars, ongoing technical assistance, and dissemination of resources, NACCHO shares lessons learned and effective strategies for local-level implementation. For more information about NACCHO’s breastfeeding and early childhood nutrition work, please click here.

In collaboration with the Center for Health and Safety Culture (CHSC) at Montana State University, NACCHO is partnering with local health departments to prevent substance-exposed pregnancies and address fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). NACCHO and CHSC are working to develop educational offerings for health department staff to build knowledge and capacity and create tools and resources to integrate substance-exposed pregnancy and FASD prevention into existing efforts. To support these efforts, NACCHO and CHSC are convening the Partners for Substance-Free Pregnancies Network, a group of multidisciplinary partners from local health departments to share resources and learn from each other through peer-to-peer information exchange. Please click here to view the FASD webpage. 
 

For more information about this project or to get involved, please contact [email protected].

NACCHO’s MCAH/Preparedness portfolio works to increase capacity of LHDs to integrate MCH populations in emergency planning to prepare for future public health threats. Funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this portfolio is a collaboration between NACCHO's MCAH and Preparedness teams.

Supporting Early Care and Education Programs with COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies
 

Funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) Antibiotic Resistance Coordination and Strategy Unit, the MCAH team’s Pediatric Vaccination portfolio is a collaboration between NACCHO, Child Care Aware of America®, and PennState Extension – Better Kid Care, supporting 50,000 ECE providers and caregivers.