ARTICLE 3. Breast Feeding [123360. - 123367.]

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC 3.

in effect

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123360. Section 123360.

(a) The State Department of Public Health shall include in its public service campaign the promotion of mothers breast-feeding their infants. (b) The department shall develop a model eight-hour training course of hospital policies and recommendations that promote exclusive breast-feeding, incorporating available materials already developed by the department, and shall specify hospital staff for whom this model training is appropriate. The department shall also provide the model training materials to hospitals, upon request.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123361. Section 123361.

To the extent that non-United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) federal funds and private grants or donations are made available for this purpose, the State Department of Public Health shall, no later than July 1, 2008, begin expansion of the breast-feeding peer counseling program at local agency California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) sites. Plans for the expansion of the program shall take into account local WIC agency program models that have demonstrated the greatest improvement in breast-feeding rates, including exclusive breast-feeding rates. Program expansion shall be contingent upon the availability of non-USDA federal funds and private grants or donations being made available for this purpose. Nothing in this section shall impact USDA federal funding for the WIC Supplemental Food Program or the breast-feeding peer counseling program at local agency WIC sites.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123365. Section 123365.

(a) All general acute care hospitals, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, and all special hospitals providing maternity care, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 1250, shall make available a breast feeding consultant or alternatively, provide information to the mother on where to receive breast feeding information. (b) The consultant may be a registered nurse with maternal and newborn care experience, if available. (c) The consultation shall be made available during the hospitalization associated with the delivery, or alternatively, the hospital shall provide information to the mother on where to receive breast feeding information. (d) The patient may decline this consultation or information.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123366. Section 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 Hospital Initiative” means the program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that recognizes hospitals that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding. (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. The infant-feeding policy 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 perinatal unit staff, beginning with hospital orientation, and shall be clearly posted in the perinatal unit or on the hospital or health system Internet 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.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 123367. Section 123367.

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) “Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative” means the program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that recognizes hospitals that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding. (2) “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. (b) All general acute care hospitals and special hospitals, as defined in subdivisions (a) and (f) of Section 1250, that have a perinatal unit shall, by January 1, 2025, adopt the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding,” as adopted by Baby-Friendly USA, per the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, or an alternate process adopted by a health care service plan that includes evidence-based policies and practices and targeted outcomes, or the Model Hospital Policy Recommendations as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 123366.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026