Government Cites ‘Alarmingly Low’ Rates of Breastfeeding, Especially Among African Americans

A "major" government report calls for a "cultural shift in how the nation regards breastfeeding," advising hospitals to improve breastfeeding education and workplaces to "make breastfeeding easier," AP/USA Today reports. Breastfed babies suffer fewer episodes of diarrhea, earaches, pneumonia and other infections, and may be less likely to develop asthma, diabetes or childhood cancer. Such infants also seem to have faster brain development, better immune response to vaccines and less likelihood of childhood obesity. But the new HHS study, called Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding, found that although 64% of American women breastfeed during their newborns' "first weeks of life," only 29% of all mothers, and just 19% of African-American mothers, are still breastfeeding at six months. Yvonne Bronner of Baltimore-based Morgan State University said, "The culture of breastfeeding has been lost, especially in the low-income African-American community." To reverse this trend, the government has established a new goal for 2010: "At least half of mothers should breastfeed exclusively until age 6 months, when solid foods are added, and at least 25% should continue breastfeeding until the baby's first birthday." The government is calling on hospitals to help women begin breastfeeding within an hour of delivery, and health workers