Key Consumer Message: Make half your plate fruits and vegetables. 

 Childhood obesity is an epidemic. In the US, 1 preschooler in 5 is at least overweight, and half of these are obese. Breastfeeding helps protect against childhood obesity. A baby's risk of becoming an overweight child goes down with each month of breastfeeding. In the US, most babies start breastfeeding, but within the first week, half have already been given formula, and by 9 months, only 31% of babies are breastfeeding at all. Hospitals can either help or hinder mothers and babies as they begin to breastfeed. The Baby- Friendly Hospital Initiative describes Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding that have been shown to increase breastfeeding rates by providing support to mothers. Unfortunately, most US hospitals do not fully support breastfeeding; they should do more to make sure mothers can start and continue breastfeeding.

La diabetes gestacional es un tipo de diabetes que afecta a las mujeres durante el embarazo. Si usted tiene diabetes, su cuerpo no puede utilizar los azúcares y almidones (carbohidratos) que toma de los alimentos para producir energía. Debido a esto, su cuerpo acumula azúcar adicional en la sangre.

Office of Minority Health: Folic Acid Knowledge and Use among Hispanic Women

This webpage reports on the recent drop in U.S. women (including Hispanics) who receive late or no prenatal care. The data on early pre-natal care is broken down by ethnicity and age, and variation within ethnic sub-groups is indicated.

Late or No Prenatal Care Data

This study, conducted by Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA, reports on the health benefits for Latinas who seek early prenatal care, meaning in the first trimester of their pregnancy. The data was gathered from the 2002 Master Birth File for California.

Timely Access to Prenatal Care: Prime Necessity for Latina Mothers