2: The Scope of Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is the normative standard for newborn and infant feeding and nutrition. More than 80% of women initiate breastfeeding in the United States (according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Immunization Surveys data) and both federal and state laws protect a woman’s right to breastfeed, as well as the right to breastfeed in public and to continue breastfeeding or expression of milk in the workplace. With the vast majority of women choosing to breastfeed, it is clear that breastfeeding has been established as the cultural norm in the United States. Furthermore, breastfeeding, or the provision of human milk, should be considered the reference standard when compared to all forms of infant feeding from a biological, medical, and scientific standpoint. As such, it should be considered a national and international public health priority and not only a lifestyle choice.