J Hum Lact

Background Exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months, calculated from a single 24-hour recall among mothers of children 0 to 5 months of age, is a World Health Organization (WHO) indicator used to monitor progress on the 2025 global breastfeeding target. Many upper-middle-income and high-income countries, including the United States, do not have estimates for this indicator. Research aim To describe the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months in the United States. Methods We used a single 24-hour dietary recall from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2012 to calculate the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months. We discuss our results in the context of routine breastfeeding surveillance, which is reported from a national survey with different methodology. Results Among children younger than 6 months, 24.4%, 95% confidence interval [17.6, 31.1], were exclusively breastfed the previous day. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first estimate of the WHO indicator of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months for the United States. This study supports the global surveillance and data strategy for reporting to the WHO on the 2025 target for exclusive breastfeeding.

28355120

PMC5576017

CDC Public Access