FRIDAY May 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) – There is considerable racial / ethnic variation in breastfeeding initiation in the United States, according to a study published in the May 28 issue of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. United. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Katelyn V. Chiang, MPH, of the Atlanta CDC, and colleagues analyzed 2019 National Vital Statistics System birth certificate data for 3,129,646 births in 48 of the 50 states and three U.S. territories to describe the initiation of the disease. breastfeeding by maternal race / ethnicity.

Researchers found that the prevalence of breastfeeding initiation was 84.1% overall, with variation by mother’s race / ethnicity from 90.3 to 73.6% in infants of Asian and black mothers, respectively. The magnitude of the difference between the highest and lowest breastfeeding rates across racial / ethnic groups varied by state, from 6.6 percent to 37.6 percent in Vermont and North Dakota, respectively; there was also variation observed in specific racial / ethnic groups with the highest and lowest rates.

“Although breastfeeding can help reduce the risks of several maternal and child health problems, infants from certain racial / ethnic minorities who are already most at risk of these conditions are often among the least likely to be breastfed,” write the authors. “These data could be useful for state and territory public health practitioners to identify specific racial / ethnic disparities on which to focus efforts to improve breastfeeding support.”

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