In-Hospital Breastfeeding Rates Remain Lopsided Across Regions, Racial/Ethnic Groups

Breastmilk is the ideal food for infants, with few exceptions. Breastfeeding is associated with a wide range of nutritional and overall health benefits—for both children and parents—that are significant, long lasting, and overwhelmingly supported by the available evidence. Leading health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the World Health Organization, recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first half year of life, followed by breastfeeding with complementary table foods through at least two years. AAP also recommends that hospitals implement care practices—such as breastfeeding within the first hour of birth—that have been shown to support successful, long-term breastfeeding.

According to the latest data, more than 2 in 3 California infants born in 2022 were breastfed exclusively before leaving the hospital after birth. Overall, this figure is up more than 10 percentage points from 2010. Following statewide trends, rates rose in all but seven counties with data over this period.

Residents of California’s Gold Country and Sierra Nevada regions recorded some of the highest rates of in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding in 2022. Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, and Plumas counties each saw rates at least 15 percentage points above the state average. By contrast, rates across the San Joaquin Valley were below the statewide level.

The share of white newborns exclusively breastfed in the hospital (81% in 2020-2022) is consistently higher than for other racial/ethnic groups in California. Since 2010, only American Indian/Alaska Native newborns have been within 10 percentage points (72% in 2020-2022) of their white peers, while the gap for African American/black newborns (61% in 2020-2022) has typically been at least twice as large. Across counties with data for 2020-2022, 39 recorded exclusive breastfeeding rates above 80% for white newborns; only seven recorded such rates for Hispanic/Latino newborns.

Visit KidsData to explore policy and practice options to address disparities in breastfeeding initiation and to improve overall breastfeeding rates in the hospital, workplace, and community. Also see KidsData for data on infants who receive any breastmilk during their hospitalization, and the Maternal and Infant Health Assessment for indicators of breastfeeding intention, duration, and more.

Children’s Health Resource

The Health of California: A Regional Perspective

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research has released a series of reports highlighting key health differences and similarities across seven distinct California regions. Using California Health Interview Survey data broken down by race/ethnicity, income level, and citizenship status, the reports examine topics such as health insurance coverage, access to care, chronic conditions, food insecurity, and housing instability in California communities.

Opportunity

California’s Changing Child Care Landscape: Understanding Costs and Supply

A new report by the Public Policy Institute of California assesses the shifting landscape of publicly supported child care for children ages 5 and younger in California, and explores whether the cost of care is affordable for families and sustainable for providers. Join the report authors Thursday, September 4, at 11:00 a.m. PT for a discussion of their findings and a Q&A session.

Recently Released Data

We recently released data about breastfeeding, health care, and intimate partner violence. See links to the latest here.

Posted by kidsdata.org

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