Just read on my latest MCH Alert that a new study was published in the
American Journal of Public Health assessing the prevalence of exclusive
breastfeeding among U.S. infants. We still have a long way to go!
Sincerely,
Kathleen Fallon Pasakarnis, M.Ed, IBCLC
Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding among U.S. infants: The Third National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Phase II, 1991-1994).
"This is the first nationally representative study available that indicates
that initiation and maintenance of exclusive breastfeeding are low in the
United States," state the authors of an article published in the July 2002
issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Using Third National Health
and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) data, the authors examined the
prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding among U.S. infants to obtain baseline
data for program evaluation and public health policymaking.
NHANES III, conducted between 1988 and 1994, collected breastfeeding data on
children ages 2 months and older by means of a household youth questionnaire
during a home interview with a parent or other proxy respondent for the
child. The current study included only children younger than 6 years
(n=8,765). Researchers estimated the proportion of these children who were
(1) ever breastfed, (2) exclusively breastfed at a given age, and (3) still
breastfed at a given age. Sociodemographic and environmental factors
considered in this analysis included race and ethnicity of respondents,
maternal age, education of household head, smoking status of the mother
during pregnancy, and maternal height and weight. Gestational age, maternal
education, and parity were obtained from data linkages with the children's
birth certificates.
The authors found that
* The proportions of children exclusively breastfed were approximately 47% at
7 days after birth, 32% at 2 months, 19% at 4 months, and 10% at 6 months;
* The proportions of children still being breastfed were approximately 52% at
7 days after birth, 40% at 2 months, 29% at 4 months, and 22% at 6 months;
* At each of these time points, exclusive breastfeeding was least common
among low-birthweight, premature, or non-Hispanic Black infants and those of
mothers who were younger than 20, had lower education or income, smoked
during pregnancy, or lived in the South;
* Breastfeeding initiation and duration were lower among mothers who were
overweight or obese and among families living in rural areas; and
* Primiparous mothers had a higher rate of initiating breastfeeding than did
multiparous mothers but had a lower rate of continuing breastfeeding
throughout the infant's first year.
The authors conclude that "public health efforts are needed to improve the
rate of exclusive breastfeeding -- and, in particular, the duration of such
feeding -- among non-Hispanic Blacks and socioeconomically disadvantaged
groups."
Li R, Ogden C, Ballew C, et al. 2002. Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding
among U.S. infants: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey (Phase II, 1991-1994). American Journal of Public Health
92(7):1107-1110.
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
