QuickStats: Percentage of Newborns Breastfed Between Birth and Discharge* from Hospital, by Maternal Age — National Vital Statistics System, 49 States and the District of Columbia, 2021 and 2022

Article Metrics
Altmetric:

Related Materials

The figure is a bar chart showing the percentage of newborns breastfed between birth and discharge from hospital, by maternal age, in 49 states and the District of Columbia during 2021–2022, according to data from the National Vital Statistics System.

* Breastfed between birth and discharge from hospital is defined as a newborn who received breast milk or colostrum during the period between birth and discharge from the hospital.

California does not report breastfeeding on birth certificates; approximately 11% of U.S. births in 2022 were to residents of California.

Among 49 states and the District of Columbia, the percentage of newborns breastfed between birth and discharge from the hospital increased from 83.3% in 2021 to 85.2% in 2022. Increases were observed for each maternal age group; the largest increases occurred among younger maternal age groups (70.4% to 74.5% among mothers aged <20 years and 77.6% to 80.8% among mothers aged 20–24 years). Despite the recent increases in initiation of breastfeeding at birth among younger mothers, older mothers were still more likely to breastfeed their newborns (86.8% of those aged ≥40 years versus 74.5% of mothers aged <20 years).

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Natality Data, 2021 and 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/births.htm

Reported by: Michelle J.K. Osterman, MHS, [email protected].


Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Percentage of Newborns Breastfed Between Birth and Discharge from Hospital, by Maternal Age — National Vital Statistics System, 49 States and the District of Columbia, 2021 and 2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2024;73:91. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7304a6.

MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of the date of publication.

All HTML versions of MMWR articles are generated from final proofs through an automated process. This conversion might result in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users are referred to the electronic PDF version (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr) and/or the original MMWR paper copy for printable versions of official text, figures, and tables.

Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to [email protected].