Ecology of breastfeeding in the United States: An applied perspective

Breastfeeding initiation and duration have followed distinct cycles in the United States. Despite recent increases, breastfeeding rates still fall short of public health goals. This paper takes an applied perspective to examine the potential role of human biologists in enhancing the promotion of breastfeeding in the United States. The conceptual model of breastfeeding held by policy makers and public health professionals is distinguished from that of human biologists. An integrated model is proposed that incorporates the sociodemographic factors of the public health model with the components of breastfeeding structure and early mother-infant interaction of the human biology model. It is suggested that human biologists can contribute to the more effective promotion of breastfeeding by promoting inclusion of a wide range of anthropological research on infant feeding, clarifying the vocabulary of infant feeding, and expanding their own research to include participation in the development and testing of breastfeeding interventions. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 10:221-228, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.