Trends in Breastfeeding Among Infants Enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and...

Breastfeeding is widely accepted as the optimal method of infant feeding (1,2). New York Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) has prioritized the promotion of breastfeeding. To assess breastfeeding trends among New York WIC infants, indicators for measuring breastfeeding practices reported by the New York Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS) during 2002-2015 were examined. The prevalence of breastfeeding initiation increased from 62.0% (2002) to 83.4% (2015), exceeding the Healthy People 2020 (HP2020)* objective of 81.9% in 2014, with improvements among all racial/ethnic groups. The percentage of New York WIC infants who breastfed for ≥6 and ≥12 months increased from 30.2% and 15.0% (2002) to 39.5% and 22.8% (2015), respectively. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding for ≥3 and ≥6 months increased from 8.9% and 2.9% (2006) to 14.3% and 8.0% (2015), respectively. Despite improvements in breastfeeding initiation, increasing the duration of breastfeeding and of exclusive breastfeeding among infants enrolled in the New York WIC program remains challenging. Identifying targeted strategies to support continued and exclusive breastfeeding should remain priorities for the New York WIC program.