Spokane Counts 2011 - Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding

Health Behavior

Indicator: Breastfeeding

Definition: Percent of births where the mother initiated breastfeeding.

Why is this important: Breastfeeding offers many benefits. Breast milk is easy to digest and contains antibodies that can protect infants from bacterial and viral infections. Infants who are breastfed are less likely to become overweight or obese children or adolescents when compared to infants who were only bottle-fed.

Where are we: In 2009 in Spokane County, 90% of infants were initially breastfed. The proportion of Spokane County births where the mother initiated breastfeeding was significantly lower than that of Washington State in 2009, but significantly higher than the U.S. in 2007. Nationally, 43% of infants are breastfed at 6 months of age and only 22% by 12 months of age.

Health Disparities:

Among Spokane County women who gave birth in 2009:

Breastfeeding initiation was more likely to occur among women 25-34 years of age than other age groups.
Compared to Whites, all other races were less likely to initiate breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding initiation increased as education increased.
Women on Medicaid were less likely to initiate breastfeeding.

Additional Information: Sustaining breastfeeding beyond initiation may be challenging for some women. In 2007, the proportion of births being breastfed beyond initiation decreased as time since birth increased and the proportion being exclusively breastfed was even lower.

	Washington	U.S.
Exclusively breastfed at 3 months:	43.8%	33.0%
Exclusively breastfed at 6 months:	21.2%	13.3%
Breastfeeding at 6 months:	59.9%	43.0%
Breastfeeding at 12 months:	33.4%	22.4%

(click to enlarge)

	Data Source	DOH, CHS 2009

Geography	Spokane County	90.1% (89.4-90.9)
	WA	91.5% (91.3-91.7)
	U.S.	75%

	Trend	05-09 Increase

Age	Births
	<18 yrs	88.3% (80.9-93.1)
	18-24 yrs	88.7% (87.2-90.0)
	25-34 yrs	91.2% (90.1-92.1)
	35+ yrs	90.0% (87.5-92.0)

Race	White	90.9% (90.1-91.6)
	Black	85.2% (78.8-89.9)
	NAAN	80.5% (73.6-85.9)
	API	86.6% (81.6-90.4)

Education	< High school	77.8% (74.5-80.7)
	High school	85.9% (84.2-87.5)
	Some college	92.9% (91.7-93.9)
	College graduate	96.3% (95.2-97.1)

Income	Medicaid	86.0% (84.7-87.3)
	Non-Medicaid	93.8% (92.9-94.6)

* Education reflects the mother's highest education level

Data Source: Washington State Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics. National Immunization Survey

Spokane Regional Health District · Community Health Assessment · 1101 W College Ave, Room 360, Spokane, WA 99201
509.323.2853 | FAX 509.232.1706 | TDD 509.324.1464 · www.srhd.org/spokanecounts