Breastfed in Kentucky

Kentucky

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life as it provides many benefits for mothers and infants. Breastfeeding provides infants with vital nutrients and supports healthy immune system development. Additional benefits to infants include:

• Reduced risk of infant mortality and sudden infant death syndrome.
• Reduced risk of chronic disease, including childhood asthma, gastroenteritis, diabetes, childhood leukemia and obesity.

Breastfeeding benefits for mothers include decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancers, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Breastfeeding also supports the development of the maternal-infant bond.

According to a systematic review, obstacles to breastfeeding include:

• Health care factors: Inadequate counseling or support from medical staff.
• Workplace factors: A shortage of private, clean lactation rooms at work, short maternity leave and inflexible work schedules.
• Sociocultural factors: Negative judgment around public breastfeeding, misinformation or a lack of encouragement from partners and family, and misconceptions that formula is a modern or superior choice.
• Personal factors: Psychological strain from trying to balance work duties, social expectations and feeding challenges such as latching difficulties, sucking problems and delayed milk production.

A 2025 National Academies report indicated that suboptimal breastfeeding rates result in significant preventable economic losses for the U.S., with annual estimates ranging from $17 billion to more than $100 billion. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rates of breastfeeding are higher among: 

• Infants born to Asian, non-Hispanic white and Hispanic women compared with those born to non-Hispanic Black women.
• Infants born to women age 30 or older compared with those born to younger women ages 20-29. 
• Infants living in urban areas.
• Infants living in the Northeast, Southwest, West and Midwest regions compared with those living in the Southeast region.

Interventions that support breastfeeding have been shown to increase rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. A 2024 study showed that breastfeeding peer counseling positively affected breastfeeding duration at 3 and 6 months postpartum.

Hospitals participating in the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, which involves implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, help encourage new mothers to start and continue breastfeeding. Higher proportions of Baby-Friendly Hospitals at the state level are associated with increased breastfeeding rates. Moreover, increased use of the Ten Steps is associated with reduced racial disparities in breastfeeding initiation. Improving the delivery of culturally relevant breastfeeding services tailored to meet the needs of communities with the lowest rates of breastfeeding initiation.

Policies like paid family leave and workplace support can also increase the proportion of women who start and continue breastfeeding. Effective workplace breastfeeding interventions include worksite lactation spaces and breast milk extraction breaks.

Healthy People 2030 has an objective to increase the percentage of infants breastfed exclusively for their first six months.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Strategies to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases: The CDC Guide to Strategies to Support Breastfeeding Mothers and Babies. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013. https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/pdf/bf-guide-508.pdf.

Gurley-Calvez, Tami, Lindsey Bullinger, and Kandice A. Kapinos. “Effect of the Affordable Care Act on Breastfeeding Outcomes.” American Journal of Public Health 108, no. 2 (February 2018): 277–83. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304108.

Interrante, Julia D., Alyssa H. Fritz, Marcia B. McCoy, and Katy Backes Kozhimannil. “Effects of Breastfeeding Peer Counseling on County-Level Breastfeeding Rates Among WIC Participants in Greater Minnesota.” Women’s Health Issues 34, no. 3 (May 2024): 232–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2023.12.001.

Jolles, Diana R., and Lauren Hoehn-Velasco. “Breastfeeding as a Quality Measure: Demonstrating Levers of the National Quality Strategy.” The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing 35, no. 3 (September 2021): 221–27. https://doi.org/10.1097/JPN.0000000000000577.

Kim, Tae Hyeon, Hyeri Lee, Selin Woo, Hayeon Lee, Jaeyu Park, Guillaume Fond, Laurent Boyer, Jong Woo Hahn, Jiseung Kang, and Dong Keon Yon. “Prenatal and Postnatal Factors Associated With Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.” World Journal of Pediatrics 20, no. 5 (May 2024): 451–60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-024-00806-1.

Li, Ruowei, Julie Ware, Aimin Chen, Jennifer M. Nelson, Jennifer M. Kmet, Sharyn E. Parks, Ardythe L. Morrow, Jian Chen, and Cria G. Perrine. “Breastfeeding and Post-Perinatal Infant Deaths in the United States, A National Prospective Cohort Analysis.” The Lancet Regional Health – Americas 5 (January 2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2021.100094.

Masi, Andrea C., and Christopher J. Stewart. “Role of Breastfeeding in Disease Prevention.” Microbial Biotechnology 17, no. 7 (July 2024): e14520. https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.14520.

Meek, Joan Younger, and Lawrence Noble. “Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk.” Pediatrics, Organizational Principles to Guide and Define the Child Health Care System and/or Improve the Health of all Children, 150, no. 1 (July 1, 2022): e2022057988. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-057988.

Merewood, Anne, Kimarie Bugg, Laura Burnham, Kirsten Krane, Nathan Nickel, Sarah Broom, Roger Edwards, and Lori Feldman-Winter. “Addressing Racial Inequities in Breastfeeding in the Southern United States.” Pediatrics 143, no. 2 (February 1, 2019): e20181897. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-1897.

Moret-Tatay, Amparo, Marcelino Pérez-Bermejo, Adalberto Asins-Cubells, Carmen Moret-Tatay, and María Teresa Murillo-Llorente. “A Systematic Review of Multifactorial Barriers Related to Breastfeeding.” Healthcare 13, no. 11 (May 23, 2025): 1225. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13111225.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Breastfeeding in the United States: Strategies to Support Families and Achieve National Goals. Edited by Ifeyinwa Asiodu, Julie A. Caswell, and Meredith Young. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2025. https://doi.org/10.17226/29118.

Rito, Ana Isabel, Marta Buoncristiano, Angela Spinelli, Benoit Salanave, Marie Kunešová, Tatjana Hejgaard, Marta García Solano, et al. “Association between Characteristics at Birth, Breastfeeding and Obesity in 22 Countries: The WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative – COSI 2015/2017.” Obesity Facts 12, no. 2 (2019): 226–43. https://doi.org/10.1159/000500425.

Rollins, Nigel C., Nita Bhandari, Nemat Hajeebhoy, Susan Horton, Chessa K. Lutter, Jose C. Martines, Ellen G. Piwoz, Linda M. Richter, and Cesar G. Victora. “Why Invest, and What It Will Take to Improve Breastfeeding Practices?” The Lancet, Breastfeeding 2, 387, no. 10017 (January 30, 2016): 491–504. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01044-2.

Vilar-Compte, Mireya, Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, and Ana L. Ruano. “Interventions and Policy Approaches to Promote Equity in Breastfeeding.” International Journal for Equity in Health 21, no. 1 (December 2022): 63, s12939-022-01670-z. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-022-01670-z.

Wilson, Keadrea, Tebeb Gebretsadik, Margaret A. Adgent, Christine Loftus, Catherine Karr, Paul E. Moore, Sheela Sathyanarayana, et al. “The Association Between Duration of Breastfeeding and Childhood Asthma Outcomes.” Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 129, no. 2 (August 2022): 205–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2022.04.034.