TABLE 2. Breastfeeding initiation and duration at ages 3 and 6 months* among non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white infants born in 2015 — National Immunization Survey-Child, United States, 2016–2017†.
| Breastfeeding indicator | All infants |
Infants who had initiated breastfeeding |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic white |
Non-Hispanic black |
Percentage point difference§ |
Non-Hispanic white |
Non-Hispanic black |
Percentage point difference§ |
|||||
| No. | % (95% CI) | No. | % (95% CI) | % (95% CI) | No. | % (95% CI) | No. | % (95% CI) | % (95% CI) | |
| Initiated breastfeeding |
9,907 |
85.9 (84.7 to 87.1) |
1,607 |
69.4 (65.9 to 73.0) |
16.5 (12.7 to 20.2)¶ |
8,729 |
N/A |
1,159 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Any breastfeeding at age 3 mos |
9,907 |
72.7 (71.2 to 74.2) |
1,607 |
58.0 (54.2 to 61.7) |
14.7 (10.7 to 18.8)¶ |
8,729 |
84.7 (83.4 to 85.9) |
1,159 |
83.5 (80.3 to 86.7) |
1.2 (−2.3 to 4.6) |
| Exclusive breastfeeding through age 3 mos |
9,537 |
53.0 (51.4 to 54.7) |
1,573 |
36.0 (32.2 to 39.7) |
17.0 (12.9 to 21.2)¶ |
8,359 |
62.2 (60.5 to 63.9) |
1,125 |
52.3 (47.8 to 56.9) |
9.9 (5.0 to 14.7)¶ |
| Any breastfeeding at age 6 mos |
9,907 |
62.0 (60.4 to 63.6) |
1,607 |
44.7 (40.9 to 48.5) |
17.3 (13.1 to 21.4)¶ |
8,729 |
72.2 (70.6 to 73.8) |
1,159 |
64.4 (60.2 to 68.6) |
7.8 (3.3 to 12.3)¶ |
| Exclusive breastfeeding through age 6 mos | 9,537 | 29.5 (28.0 to 31.1) | 1,573 | 17.2 (14.1 to 20.2) | 12.4 (8.9 to 15.8)¶ | 8,359 | 34.7 (32.9 to 36.4) | 1,125 | 25.0 (20.8 to 29.2) | 9.7 (5.1 to 14.2)¶ |
Abbreviations: CI = confidence interval; N/A = not applicable.
* Breastfeeding initiation was determined according to participant's response to the question “Was [child] ever breastfed or fed breast milk?” Breastfeeding duration was determined according to participant's response to the question “How old was [child’s name] when [child’s name] completely stopped breastfeeding or being fed breast milk?” Exclusive breastfeeding was defined as only breast milk (no solids, no water, and no other liquids). To assess the duration of exclusive breastfeeding, participants were asked two questions about age: 1) “How old was [child’s name] when he/she was first fed formula?” and 2) “How old was [child’s name] when he/she was first fed anything other than breast milk or formula?” (This includes juice, cow’s milk, sugar water, baby food, or anything else that [child] might have been given, even water).
† Based on National Immunization Survey-Child data from survey years 2016–2017, among infants born in 2015.
§ Differences in breastfeeding rates between non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white infants.
¶ Differences in breastfeeding rates between non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white infants are statistically significant (p<0.05, two-sample test of proportions).