Before I became a mother, August was just that sticky, hot month signaling the end of summer and a return to routine. Now, as a parent, it’s the mad dash before school starts, with the added layer forms, supplies and big emotions that go along with it. And guess what? August is also National Breastfeeding Month!
Launched by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action in 1992, World Breastfeeding Week occurs annually during the first week of August. In 2011, the U.S. decided to take it up a notch and declared the entire month to be National Breastfeeding Month. So, you might wonder, why all the fuss?
Once studies started showing the benefits of breastfeeding for both babies and moms, global health organizations like WHO and UNICEF got serious about increasing breastfeeding rates. They realized that doing so could lead to better health outcomes worldwide. A 2016 report in The Lancet really brought this into focus, showing that boosting breastfeeding rates could save the lives of over 700,000 infants under six months old per year, while preventing up to 20,000 maternal deaths per year from breast cancer. Those numbers are staggering!
Naturally, this got me curious about how breastfeeding rates differ across the world. According to The Lancet, back in 2016, the rates varied significantly. Countries in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America had almost universal breastfeeding rates, while places like the United States, Spain, and France were lagging, with only about 80% of babies ever being breastfed. Fast forward to more recent data from UNICEF, and things have improved: breastfeeding rates in many countries jumped by about 10%, with 71% of women still breastfeeding at one year. But when you look at the U.S., the CDC’s latest stats show only a modest increase—84% of infants start out breastfeeding, and just 39% are still receiving breast milk at one year.
World rates of breastfeeding at 1 year of age. The Lancet
So, why the difference? One big reason is economics.
In low- and middle-income countries, the high cost of formula and limited access to healthcare might make breastfeeding the more feasible option. Indeed, in these countries, wealthier households are less likely to breastfeed. On the flip side, in wealthier countries like the United States that have a higher cost of living, it is lower-income mothers who are less likely to breastfeed, given a more crucial need to return to work sooner and rare ability to take paid parental leave. Geographically, this corresponds to lower rates of breastfeeding in the Southeastern states, as well as in rural versus urban areas.
Percentage of Breastfed Infants in the US at 6 months. CDC
Cultural norms and legal frameworks also play a huge role. In many lower-income countries, extended families and tight-knit communities provide mothers with a built-in support system that can teach and help support breastfeeding. Compare that to the U.S., where many of us live in stand-alone family units and are often left to either figure things out on our own or hire help. Parental leave policies also make a big difference. Countries that offer paid parental leave tend to have higher breastfeeding rates. Take Sweden, for example, where parents can take 12 to 16 months off (yes, months!) Not surprisingly, they have some of the highest breastfeeding rates in the developed world.
Here in the U.S., despite the overall rise in breastfeeding rates over the past five years, we still face challenges. The lack of paid parental leave, insufficient workplace support, societal stigma around breastfeeding in public, and a lack of basic education and support services for breastfeeding make it tough for many moms to continue breastfeeding or pumping as long as they might want. And all these factors are amplified for people of color, those in a lower socioeconomic class and non-gender-conforming parents.
But here’s the bottom line: while breastfeeding rates around the world are influenced by so many factors—economic, cultural, legal—the decision whether to even breastfeed and when to stop should be the mother’s choice alone, and not one dictated by external pressures.
Every mother deserves the freedom to make the best decision for herself and her child without feeling weighed down by other constraints. By fostering supportive environments that honor individual circumstances and choices, and by passing universal paid parental leave, we can help ensure that all parents feel empowered to make the decision that’s right for them.
Works Cited
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Breastfeeding Report Card .” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 31 Aug. 2022, www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/reportcard.htm.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Key Breastfeeding Indicators.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7 Aug. 2023, www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/facts.html.
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Global Breastfeeding Collective. “Global Breastfeeding Scorecard.” World Health Organization and UNICEF. Dec. 2023.
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Victora, Cesar G, et al. “Breastfeeding in the 21st Century: Epidemiology, Mechanisms, and Lifelong Effect.” The Lancet, vol. 387, no. 10017, 2016, pp. 475–490.