Newborns breastfed at discharge by state U.S. 2019

In 2019, mothers in West Virginia had one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding initiation. Around 65 percent of newborn infants in West Virginia were offered breastmilk between delivery and discharge from the hospital. In comparison, 95 percent of newborns were offered breastmilk in Oregon. This statistic shows the percentage of infants in the United States in 2019 for whom breastfeeding was initiated, by state.

Percentage of newborn infants who were breastfed at hospital discharge in United States in 2019, by state

Characteristic	Percentage of infants who were breastfed
Oregon	94.8%
Washington	94.6%
Alaska	92.9%
Colorado	92.8%
Idaho	92.2%
Vermont	91.3%
New Hampshire	90.8%
Montana	90.6%
Minnesota	89.7%
Kansas	89.6%
Hawaii	89.6%
Maine	89.4%
Arizona	88.9%
Nebraska	88.6%
Texas	88.5%
Massachusetts	88.4%
New York	87.9%
Connecticut	87.4%
Florida	87.2%
Maryland	87.1%
Virginia	86.2%
Utah	86.2%
New Mexico	86.1%
North Dakota	85%
DC	84.2%
Wyoming	83.9%
Georgia	83.1%
Illinois	83.1%
Iowa	83.1%
Indiana	82.9%
Pennsylvania	82.2%
Oklahoma	81.8%
North Carolina	81.6%
Tennessee	81.1%
Wisconsin	81.1%
South Dakota	80.7%
Delaware	80.5%
Nevada	80%
New Jersey	79.7%
Missouri	79.7%
South Carolina	78.1%
Ohio	76%
Arkansas	73.7%
Kentucky	71.7%
Louisiana	71%
Alabama	69.6%
Rhode Island	67.7%
West Virginia	64.8%
Mississippi	64.7%

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Release date

May 2021

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Region

United States

Survey time period

2019

Supplementary notes

"Birth data from NVSS are a census of all live births in the United States collected by using the U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth. Birth certificate data include an infant nutrition item, determined from medical records, that indicates whether an infant received any breast milk or colostrum during the period between delivery and hospital discharge."
Data excludes infants transferred to another facility within 24 hours of delivery and those who died before completion of the birth certificate.

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