Rates of Any and Exclusive Breastfeeding by Socio-demographics among Children Born in 2012 (Percentage +/- half 95% Confidence Interval)1,2

  Any Breastfeeding Exclusive Breastfeeding
    Ever Breastfed Breastfed
at
6 Months
Breastfed
at
12 Months
  Exclusive
Breastfeeding
through
3 Months
Exclusive
Breastfeeding
through
6 Months
Socio-demographic Factors n % ± half 95% CI % ± half 95% CI % ± half 95% CI n % ± half 95% CI % ± half 95% CI
US National 15141 80.0±1.2 51.4±1.5 29.2±1.4 14768 43.3±1.6 21.9±1.4
Gender
Male 7744 79.7±1.7 50.0±2.1 27.7±1.9 7554 41.5±2.1 20.6±1.8
Female 7397 80.4±1.8 52.8±2.2 30.6±2.1 7214 45.2±2.3 23.3±2.0
Race/Ethnicity
Hispanic 2788 82.4±2.8 51.4±3.7 27.9±3.6 2749 40.3±3.8 20.8±3.3
Non-Hispanic White 8811 83.0±1.3 55.8±1.8 32.8±1.8 8546 48.0±1.9 24.4±1.7
Non-Hispanic Black 1476 66.4±3.8 35.3±4.0 16.9±3.1 1460 33.4±4.1 13.9±2.9
Non-Hispanic Asian 683 83.2±7.6 65.6±7.7 42.3±7.0 662 46.5±7.5 26.9±7.1
Non-Hispanic
Hawaiian/Pacific
Islander
96 83.9±14.1 32.6±19.0 14.4±9.0 95 43.3±24.1 11.8±9.5
Non-Hispanic
American Indian/
Alaska Native
217 71.5±12.6 28.8±11.7 17.9±8.9 212 27.4±11.8 12.5±6.5
2 or more races 1070 75.4±6.5 46.2±6.2 25.3±5.4 1044 41.4±6.3 23.0±5.6
Maternal Education
Less than high school 1575 69.1±3.8 40.3±4.5 21.2±3.9 1559 32.8±4.5 16.1±3.9
High school graduate 2755 71.1±3.1 38.2±3.3 20.0±2.8 2696 33.5±3.1 16.3±2.5
Some college
or technical school
3924 81.2±2.3 45.9±3.2 24.2±2.8 3814 41.2±3.2 19.5±2.7
College graduate 6887 91.2±1.1 70.3±1.9 43.2±2.3 6699 57.2±2.2 30.6±2.2
Maternal Age
Under 20 103 58.6±16.1 17.4±10.0 4.3±2.8 103 28.3±13.1 8.0±7.7
20 - 29 5443 75.2±2.0 40.6±2.4 21.0±2.1 5315 37.8±2.4 18.8±2.1
30 or older 9595 84.1±1.6 60.2±2.0 35.8±2.0 9350 47.8±2.1 24.5±1.8
Poverty Income Ratio3
Less than 100 3840 71.4±2.6 37.7±2.9 19.8±2.5 3768 31.7±2.9 15.6±2.3
100 – 199 2952 79.0±2.6 49.1±3.3 27.9±3.1 2880 40.5±3.3 19.9±2.8
200 – 399 4028 86.0±2.0 59.5±2.9 36.4±3.0 3920 54.5±3.0 27.1±3.0
400 – 599 2379 88.2±2.1 66.3±3.5 38.1±3.8 2317 53.7±3.8 30.2±3.9
600 or greater 1942 90.9±2.1 70.4±3.5 39.1±4.2 1883 54.4±4.3 27.9±4.1
Marital Status4
Married 10842 87.0±1.2 62.3±1.8 37.8±1.8 10534 51.5±1.9 27.2±1.7
Unmarried 4299 68.3±2.6 33.1±2.7 14.7±2.2 4234 29.7±2.6 13.2±2.1
Geographic Location5
Metropolitan 4803 82.5±1.8 54.7±2.5 31.7±2.4 4679 44.5±2.5 21.4±2.1
Non-metropolitan 1580 71.9±3.7 42.4±4.4 25.5±4.2 1540 37.1±4.4 19.3±4.2
Birth Order
First born 9418 78.9±1.7 53.1±2.0 30.0±1.9 9169 43.8±2.0 22.1±1.8
Not first born 5723 81.7±1.8 48.7±2.4 27.9±2.3 5599 42.6±2.5 21.6±2.2
Receiving WIC6
Yes 6676 73.1±1.9 39.1±2.2 19.3±1.9 6549 33.4±2.2 15.6±1.8
No, but eligible 1096 80.3±6.7 58.2±6.5 40.9±6.0 1065 51.4±6.5 29.7±5.9
Ineligible 7304 90.5±1.1 68.4±1.9 41.6±2.2 7096 56.8±2.2 30.0±2.2

1 Breastfeeding rates presented in this table are based on dual-frame (landline and cellular telephone) samples from 2013 and 2014 National Immunization Surveys. See survey methods for details on study design.
2 Exclusive breastfeeding is defined as ONLY breast milk — NO solids, no water, and no other liquids.
3 Poverty Income Ratio = Ratio of self-reported family income to the federal poverty threshold value depending on the number of people in the household.
4 Unmarried includes never married, widowed, separated, divorced.
5 Metropolitan area is defined by the Census Bureau.
6 WIC = Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Source: National Immunization Survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services

Sample sizes appearing in the NIS breastfeeding tables are slightly smaller than the numbers published in other NIS publications because in the DNPAO breastfeeding analyses, the sample was limited to records with valid responses to the breastfeeding questions.