Survey shows more US mothers are breast-feeding

AORN Journal, Feb, 2003

Breast-feeding rates in the United States are at record highs, according to a Dec 2, 2002, news release from the Ross Products Division of Abbott Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio. More than 340,000 mothers responded to the Ross Mother's Survey, which was mailed to 1.4 million US mothers. The survey tracks infant feeding trends.

In 2001, the rate of breast-feeding initiation increased to 69.5% from 51.5% in 1990, and the rate of breast feeding at six months of age increased to 32.5%, up from 17.6% in 1990. The breast-feeding initiation rate for mothers participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), however, was only 58.2% compared to 78.9% among mothers not participating in WIC, which shows a need for greater efforts to increase breast feeding among WIC participants. Nearly 50% of all infants in the United States are part of the WIC program.

One goal of the US Department of Health and Human Services' Healthy People 2010 is 75% breast-feeding initiation rates. The 78.9% breast-feeding initiation rate among the non-WIC population surpasses the Healthy People 2010 goal. If the breast-feeding initiation rates among WIC participants increases by slightly more than 2% per year during the next eight years, the Healthy People 2010 goal will be met for the entire population of breast-feeding mothers, according to the release. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other leading health care organizations agree that breast feeding is the gold standard for feeding infants and that it has positive health effects for both mothers and babies.

US Breastfeeding Rates Reach Record High New Study Shows: Progress is Good for Babies and Mothers; but Rates in WIC Program Continue to Lag Significantly (news release, Columbus, Ohio: Ross Products Division of Abbott Laboratories, Inc, Dec 2, 2002).