| Health Status > Infants
BREASTFEEDING
Breastfeeding has been shown to promote the health
and development of infants, as well as their immunity to disease;
it has also been shown to have a number of benefits to maternal
health. For this reason, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
recommends exclusive breastfeeding-without supplemental foods or
liquids-through the first 6 months of age and continued breastfeeding
through at least the first year.
Breastfeeding initiation rates in the United States
have fluctuated over the past several decades but have increased
steadily since the beginning of the 1990s. In 2003, 70.9 percent
of mothers ever breastfed their infants. Asian women were most likely
to breastfeed their infants (79.3 percent), followed by Hispanic
and non-Hispanic White women (77.8 and 72.2 percent, respectively).
Breastfeeding rates increased with maternal age, higher educational
achievement and higher income. Married women were more likely than
unmarried women to breastfeed (76.8 versus 57.8 percent, respectively).
Breastfeeding rates decrease as infant age increases.
In 2003, 36.2 percent of mothers breastfed their infants at 6 months,
and 17.2 percent breastfed at 12 months. Exclusive breastfeeding
rates have not shown the same improvement over time as breastfeeding
initiation. In 2003, only 14.2 percent of women practiced exclusive
breastfeeding at 6 months. As with breastfeeding initiation, exclusive
breastfeeding rates were higher among Asian, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic
White women, and women who were older, educated, and of higher income.
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Bar Chart: Breastfeeding Rates, by Race/Ethnicity:
2003
> Bar
Chart: Breastfeeding Rates, by Recommended Duration and
Maternal Education: 2003
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