77% of New Mothers in the US Breastfeed
US Statistics on Breastfeeding
Astonishingly, 77 percent of mothers in the US breastfeed their newborn babies. I would have suspected the number was far lower, due to the intolerance of public breastfeeding that still exists in some parts of the country, and I am partially correct. 77 percent of mothers breastfed their babies in the first month of life, according to a survey results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC). This is up from 60 percent in 1994. “The report shows that the initiation of breast-feeding is at an all-time high,” said Karen Hunter of the CDC.
Breastfeeding rates remain unchanged for children six months of age. According to the New York Times:
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend that mothers breast-feed exclusively for the first six months of their child’s life and continue breast-feeding with baby food as a supplement until at least the child’s first birthday.
The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Family Physicians also recommend six months of exclusive breast-feeding but suggest supplemented breast-feeding until the child is at least 2.
