Breastfeeding in the U.S. (Part 2): How are we doing?

Making progress…

First the good news: More American babies are breastfeeding every year.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which just released its Breastfeeding Report Card 2012:

– 76.9% of infants start out life breastfeeding

– 47.2% were at least partially breastfed at 6 months (versus 34.2% in 2000)

– 25.5% were at least partially breastfed at their first birthday (versus 15.7% in 2000)

The statistics for exclusive breastfeeding show a similar encouraging trend:

– 36% of babies were exclusively breastfed through 3 months of age (vs. 30.5% in 2000)

– 16.3% were exclusively breastfed through 6 months (vs. 11.3 in 2000).

The bad news, such as it is, is that as a nation we have a long way to go. Ideally, all babies would be exclusively breastfed until at least 6 months of age, and we’re far from that ideal.

The percentage of exclusively breastfed babies in the 2012 report card does come close to the CDC’s Healthy People 2010 goals: 40% of babies exclusively breastfed at 3 months, and 17% at 6 months. But still…that means the majority of American babies aren’t enjoying breastfeeding’s many benefits.

The CDC has set more ambitious and hopefully achievable breastfeeding goals in Healthy People 2020:

2020 Target:

1) Ever breastfed: 81.9% (2012 report card: 76.9%)

2) Any breastfeeding:

At 6 months: 60.6% (2012: 47.2%)

At 1 year: 34.1% (2012: 25.5%)

3) Exclusive breastfeeding:

Through 3 months: 46.2% (2012: 36%)

Through 6 months: 25.5% (2012: 16.6%)

Next we’ll look at state-by-state breastfeeding data. Not surprisingly, there are some significant differences…

New CDC report on U.S. home birth

Heading out the door to my office, but wanted to post this for perusing…

Home births are on the rise in the U.S., according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Home births accounted for 0.72% of all U.S. births (29,650 births in all) in 2009. The rise is disproportionately among non-Hispanic white women 35 and older (a 36% increase from 2004-2009).

There’s interesting data galore: about 67% of the births were attended by midwives (mostly) or physicians (less often), while 33% of the home births were attended by “others”–which could be anyone from a relative to a paramedic. It’s the latter category that tends to include unplanned home births (eg, babies born in toilets to very surprised mothers, etc.) and most of the “disaster stories” that plague home birth’s reputation. Reporting is getting better now, less “lump-em-all-together,” which should give a more accurate picture of the risks of well-planned, well-attended home birth in the U.S.

I’ll have more to say on this report later today and tomorrow.