New Federal Study Finds Breastfeeding Rates Are Rising, But More Work Needs to Be Done

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released the 2016 Breastfeeding Report Card which offers some encouraging news regarding the rates of breastfeeding in the United States. Many studies have shown the benefits of breastfeeding to infants and also to their mothers. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants be breastfed exclusively for six months and that it should continue while other foods are added at least until the child’s first birthday.

The new CDC data finds that more than 81 percent of new mothers begin breastfeeding their infants. But at six months of age only 51 percent of mothers are still breastfeeding and only 22 percent are feeding their infants exclusively with breast milk. Only 30 percent of mothers are still breastfeeding by the time of their child’s first birthday.

The good news is that breastfeeding rates are rising. The CDC report says that “high breastfeeding initiation rates show that most mothers in the U.S. want to breastfeed and are trying to do so. However, low breastfeeding rates among infants who are 6 and 12 months of age indicate that many mothers do not continue breastfeeding as recommended. These rates suggest that mothers, in part, may not be getting the support they need, such as from healthcare providers, family members, and employers.”