The CDC is indeed collecting data on breastfeeding rates in the US as part
of their national immunization survey.  The results will be posted to their
web site this summer.  http://www.cdc.gov/nip

The description of the sampling design says:

"Breastfeeding is believed to provide children with antibodies and other
factors that help protect against invasive forms of some diseases such as
Haemophilus influenzae b.  However, some parents may think breastfeeding
lessens the need for timely vaccinations.  Knowledge of the prevalence of
breastfeeding in the U.S. and whether it is linked to vaccination status is
important for maternal and child health programs to plan and improve
campaigns to increase this healthy practice while maintaining high
age-appropriate vaccine coverage."

The questions about breastfeeding ask if the child was ever breastfed or fed
breast milk, for how long, and then there are categories of under 1 month,
1-6 months, 6-12 months, and over 1 year.  Then there is a question about
how old the child was the first time they had anything other than breast
milk or water.  That's it.

Kathy Dettwyler



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