Pat:  I'd like to personally thank you for providing us with the stats
(thanks also for the clarification of the "glitch" in the columns).  I'd
like to comment on some of the suggestions about the accuracy of such
data collected by abm manufacturer.  When I did research on a paper, I
verified the accuracy of the data with an article from the American
Journal of Public Health (sorry, can't find the reference!) which
compared the Ross data with a government survey, and found it very
accurate and reproducible.  The only aspect not covered is the home
births and birthing centers, but they represent a small fraction of
births in the US, therefore wouldn't likely affect the stats (if they
did, they would likely slightly increase the bf rates).  Although we can
question the motives behind the data collection and the way the company
might use the information, it appears that we can rely on the accuracy.
As for the ethical sticking point of breastfeeding advocates using Ross
data, I've struggled, but I don't see a good alternative, since the
government stats are not as readily available, and to my knowledge, not
obtained as frequently.  Alicia Dermer, MD, IBCLC, just a humble family
doc with no financial interest whatever in any company, especially not an
abm manufacturer. [log in to unmask]