Which States Do the Best, Worst Job at Following Guidelines to Breastfeed for 12 Months or More?
By Jacqueline Tourville
Location, location, location. It matters when you’re thinking about buying a house, but could where you live also matter when it comes to how likely you are to breastfeed? Current breastfeeding recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics call for babies to be breastfed until at least their first birthdays. But a recent “breastfeeding report card” released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that percentages of women actually following these guidelines–and continuing to nurse at 12 months–vary dramatically from state to state.
Who breastfeeds the longest? Maybe it has something to do with the state’s reputation for quality dairy products (it is the home to Ben & Jerry’s, after all), but the CDC found that women in Vermont were the most likely to still be nursing their babies on their first birthdays, with 39.7 percent of babies continuing to receive breast milk until at least 12 months. Oregon and Utah were close behind, at 39.6 and 35.4 percent respectively, to round out the top three pro-breastfeeding states.
Here’s how the rest of the states stacked up according to the CDC’s latest breastfeeding statistics (via CBS News):
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4. Montana, 34.8% 5. Washington, 33.4% 6. Hawaii, 33.1% 7. Alaska, 32.7% 8. California, 31.4% 9. Idaho, 30.8% 10. Colorado, 29.3% 11. Wyoming, 29% 12. Maine, 27.6% 13. Minnesota, 26.6% 14. New Hampshire, 29.5% 15. Arizona, 25.3% 16. New York, 24.8% (tie) 16. New Mexico, 24.8% (tie) 18. Virginia, 23.9% (tie) 18. Nebraska, 23.9% (tie)
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20. Washington D.C., 23.7% 21. Wisconsin, 23.5% 22. Massachusetts, 23.3% 23. Michigan, 22.9% 24. South Dakota, 22.7% (tie) 24. Rhode Island, 22.7% (tie) 26. Texas, 21.8% 27. Connecticut, 21.7% 28. Nevada, 20.8% 29. North Dakota, 20.7% 30. Delaware, 20.3% (tie) 30. Ohio, 20.3% (tie) 32. Kansas, 20.2% 33. New Jersey, 19.8% 34. North Carolina, 19.4% (tie) 34. Missouri, 19.4% (tie) |
36. Iowa, 19.2% 37. Pennsylvania, 18.5% 38. Maryland, 17.9% 39. Georgia, 17.9% 40. Florida, 17.3% 41. Tennessee, 17.2% 42. Indiana, 16.9% 43. Illinois, 16.4% 44. Alabama, 15.9% 45. Kentucky, 13.1% 46. Arkansas, 12.6% 47. West Virginia, 12.5% 48. Oklahoma, 12.2% 49. South Carolina, 12% 50. Louisiana, 9.8% 51. Mississippi , 8% |
The State of Things to Come?
Feel good because your state is near the top of the heap? Or finally have an explanation for why you feel like the only mom in miles to still be breastfeeding your baby at 12 months? While numbers-wise there is a huge difference in breastfeeding rates between Vermont and bottom-rated states like Mississippi and Louisiana, the big picture here may be that less than half of all American moms breastfeed at 12 months, no matter where their state ranks.
As the CDC points out, babies who are fed breast milk are at reduced risk for certain sicknesses, such as diarrhea, ear infections, and upper respiratory infections. Even when starting solid foods, breast milk continues to supply valuable infant nutrition and health protection throughout Baby’s first year–and beyond, say both the CDC and AAP.
How to boost US breastfeeding rates? The CDC is calling for more–and better–support from hospitals, pediatricians, day care centers, and other groups to get out the word that, even as babies transition into toddlers, breast continues to be best.
