Sign On Letter Supporting the DEMAND Act of 2022

Organizations are invited to sign on to the below joint letter encouraging Congress to support the DEMAND Act of 2022 (Delivering Essentials to Mothers Amid Natural Disasters Act) (S. 3601/H.R. 6555). Signers will be added to the letter on a rolling basis. 

Please note: this sign-on form is for organizations only. By completing the form at the bottom of this page, you are indicating that you have permission (and/or authority) from the organization to sign on to this letter. Please direct questions to advocacy@usbreastfeeding.org. 

Dear Members of Congress, 

We, the undersigned organizations, under the auspices of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee-affiliated COVID-19 Infant & Young Child Feeding Constellation, urge you to support the bipartisan DEMAND Act of 2022 (Delivering Essentials to Mothers Amid Natural Disasters Act) (S. 3601/H.R. 6555).

The COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing rate of natural disasters continue to reveal dangerous gaps in the emergency care systems serving families with breastfeeding babies. Infants are a highly vulnerable population, yet caregivers are too often left without access to support and supplies to ensure their infants' basic nutrition needs are met in emergencies. The DEMAND Act would ensure that lactation support services and supplies are eligible expenses for emergency assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Critical Needs Assistance program.  

Human milk is a critical component of food security, and during an emergency, lactation support must be part of the basic standard of care for America's 3.7 million infants. The DEMAND Act is an important step to more equitably protect, promote, and support the feeding and care of infants and young children during emergencies. During an emergency, maintaining milk supply is of utmost importance. Lactation support providers can work with parents to protect their supply or encourage relactation, if possible. Equipment alone cannot provide this service, yet adding these as reimbursable expenses is one small, yet helpful step in supporting lactation throughout the disruptions caused by emergencies. 

The evidence for the value of human milk to overall health for infants, children, and mothers is scientific, robust, and continually reaffirmed by new research. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants be exclusively breastfed for about six months with continued breastfeeding while introducing complementary foods for at least one year. Breastfed infants are at lower risk of certain infections and sudden unexplained infant death. Children who were breastfed have decreased risk of obesity, type 1 and 2 diabetes, asthma, and childhood leukemia. Women who have breastfed reduce their risk of specific chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and breast and ovarian cancers.

Everyone wants to do what is best for their baby, and most pregnant people and new mothers want to breastfeed. Yet barriers in healthcare, community, and employment settings continue to impede breastfeeding success, and there are persistent breastfeeding rate disparities by racial, geographic, and socioeconomic factors. These same populations experience many other health inequities, including lesser access to nutritious foods and a disproportionate burden of overweight, obesity, and chronic disease. All of these factors are magnified during emergencies, resulting in historically marginalized/unsupported communities enduring an outsized impact.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to exacerbate matters. COVID-19 revealed fissures in our national capacity to coordinate infant and young child feeding in emergencies, destabilized already fragile maternity care practices that critically underpin breastfeeding initiation, and deepened known disparities. The pandemic and myriad natural disasters that have plagued the country in recent years demonstrate that our states lack the infrastructure to coordinate lactation support services and the provision of breastfeeding equipment during emergencies.

Given the importance of human milk feeding in establishing good nutrition and healthy weight and reducing the risk of chronic disease, we urge you to cosponsor the DEMAND Act of 2022. This is a common-sense and important step toward ensuring optimal growth and development and preventing malnutrition, illness, and death among infants and young children during emergencies.

Download a PDF of the letter.