EVIDENCE BASED CARE SHEET
Breastfeeding: Factors That Affect Initiation and Duration of Breastfeeding
What We Know
› Breastfeeding has physical and psychological benefits for both the infant and
mother(1,3,5,7,8,10,15,18)
• Breastfeeding is associated with health benefits for the newborn, including passive
immunity that helps protect the infant against infections, reducing the prevalence of
diarrhea, otitis media, pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis during the first year of
life; reduced risk for atopic diseases (e.g., allergies, asthma, eczema); reduced risk for
sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS); decreased risk for childhood leukemia; decreased
risk cardiovascular disease; improved cognitive and developmental outcomes; and
decreased incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and obesity later in life(3,13)
• Benefits of breastfeeding for the mother include increased bonding with the infant,
easier postpartum weight loss, reduced risk for postpartum depression, decreased
postpartum bleeding, convenience, delayed fertility, and reduced risk for breast and
ovarian cancers later in life(3,13)
› The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations International Children’s
Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend
that infants be breastfed for at least the first year of life and exclusively breastfed (i.e.,
breast milk only) for the first 6 months of life(5)
• Among infants born in the United States in 2015, the rate of breastfeeding initiation was
83%; rates of breastfeeding at 6 and 12 months were 58% and 36%, respectively. These
rates lag behind the targets set by the Healthy People 2020 goals of 82% breastfeeding
Authors
Gillian Levy, BSN, RN
Cinahl Information Systems, Glendale, CA
Tamra J. Ashley, RN, MSN, CFNP, IBCLC
Cinahl Information Systems, Glendale, CA