Percentage of Mothers Breastfeeding Their Infants by Sociodemographic Factors, 2003-2004

2003

2004

Ever Breastfed

Breastfeeding at 6 months

Breastfeeding at 12 months

Ever Breastfed

Breastfeeding at 6 months

Breastfeeding at 12 months

Total

70.9

36.2

17.2

70.3

36.2

17.8

Sex of Infant

Male

70.7

35.6

16.3

70.4

34.7

17.1

Female

71.0

36.8

18.2

70.3

37.7

18.6

Birth order

First born

69.9

37.5

18.5

69.6

36.8

18.7

Not first born

72.5

34.1

15.2

71.7

35.1

16.3

Race/ethnicity

Non-Hispanic white

72.2

38.5

17.7

71.0

37.7

18.3

Non-Hispanic black

51.1

21.9

8.9

50.4

21.1

8.1

Hispanic

77.8

38.2

20.0

79.2

40.0

20.9

Asian

79.3

44.0

22.0

74.4

39.6

22.7

American Indian or Alaskan Native

68.6

32.0

14.9

65.5

29.2

17.7

Receiving WIC

Yes

64.2

28.5

13.5

64.1

28.7

14.0

No, but eligible

75.6

44.8

25.7

74.0

45.9

26.6

No, and ineligible

79.9

46.4

21.5

79.3

47.0

22.6

Maternal Age

Less than 20

54.5

14.9

6.9

47.6

13.5

5.0

Ages 20 - 29

67.6

30.6

14.2

66.5

29.6

13.8

30 and older

74.9

42.6

20.7

75.2

43.6

22.2

Maternal Education

Less than High School

63.4

28.6

15.2

64.3

30.3

16.0

High School

63.5

28.3

13.0

62.2

28.0

13.5

Some College

74.4

37.5

17.0

72.8

35.3

16.9

College Graduate

84.0

51.9

24.8

83.7

52.3

25.5

Maternal Marital Status

Married

76.8

42.2

20.6

76.5

42.2

21.2

Unmarried¹

57.8

22.8

9.8

57.2

23.4

10.4

Poverty Income Ratio²

Less than 100%

62.7

27.9

14.2

63.0

30.2

15.6

100% - 184%

67.9

33.0

16.8

68.1

32.7

16.1

185% - 349%

74.0

38.8

18.6

71.7

38.3

18.8

More than 350%

79.7

46.2

19.5

79.3

45.9

21.1

¹Includes widowed, seperated, divorced, deceased, and never married.

²This equals the ratio of the self-reported family income to the federal poverty threshold value, taking into account the number of people in in the household.

Source: Data for 2003: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Breastfeeding Practices: Results from the 2003 National Immunization Survey. Available online at http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/NIS_data/data_2003.htm. Data for 2004: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Data and Statistics: Breastfeeding Practices — Results from the 2004 National Immunization Survey." Available online at http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/NIS_data/data_2004.htm.