Breast-feeding rates hit new high in U.S.
Three-quarters of new moms nurse their infants, at least briefly, CDC says
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updated 11:22 a.m. ET, Wed., April. 30, 2008
ATLANTA - The U.S. breast-feeding rate has hit its highest mark in at
least 20 years with more than three-quarters of new moms nursing their
infants, according to a government report released Wednesday.
About 77 percent of new mothers breast-feed, at least briefly, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention said.
"It looks like it is an all-time high" based on CDC surveys since the
mid-1980s, said Jeff Lancashire, a CDC spokesman.
Experts attributed the rise to education campaigns that emphasize that
breast milk is better than formula at protecting babies against disease
and childhood obesity. A changing culture that accommodates nursing
mothers may also be a factor.
The percentage of black infants who were ever breast-fed rose most
dramatically, to 65 percent. Only 36 percent were ever breast-fed in
1993-1994, the new study found.
For whites, the figure rose to 79 percent, from 62 percent. For
Mexican-Americans, it increased to 80 percent, from 67 percent.
Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher celebrated the report's
findings, noting that black women have historically had lower
breast-feeding rates.
"It was very impressive that when it comes to beginning to breast-feed,
African-American women have had the greatest progress," said Satcher, who
is now an administrator at Atlanta's Morehouse School of Medicine.
The new report is based on a comprehensive federal survey involving
in-person interviews as well as physical examinations. The findings are
based on information for 434 infants from the years 2005 and 2006.
A telephone survey of thousands of families, released last year, found
that 74 percent of infants in 2004 had been breast-fed.
At least three types of CDC surveys have shown breast-feeding rates moving
upward since the early 1990s, officials said.
The latest CDC report found rates of breast-feeding were also lowest among
women who are unmarried, poor, rural, younger than 20, and have a high
school education or less
Liz Maseth RN, IBCLC
Outpatient Lactation Services
Maternal Fetal Medicine
Akron Children's Hospital
(330) 543-4531
Fax (330) 543-4508
Pager (330) 914-0096
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