New CDC figures show breastfeeding rates rising across several measures, while formula supplementation is also becoming more widespread.
A growing share of American families are choosing to breastfeed, and more are continuing beyond the first few months of a child’s life, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC’s updated National Immunization Survey-Child results show that 86.1% of children born in 2023 were breastfed at some point, the highest figure recorded among birth cohorts from 2016 through 2023. That compares with 83.8% of children born in 2016.
The shift becomes more pronounced when looking at how long breastfeeding continued. Among children born in 2023, 62.8% were still being breastfed at six months, up from 57.3% in 2016. At 12 months, the rate reached 40.8%, compared with 36.2% seven years earlier.
The figures suggest that breastfeeding initiation, already common across the United States, is gradually being matched by longer feeding duration. After several years of relatively little movement, most measures began rising more consistently among children born from 2021 onward.
Exclusive breastfeeding also increased, although it remains far less common. The CDC defines exclusive breastfeeding as feeding a baby only breast milk, with no formula, water, other liquids or solid foods.
For babies born in 2023, 48.5% were exclusively breastfed through three months, while 29.8% continued exclusively through six months. In 2016, those figures stood at 47.5% and 25.4%, respectively.
The data also reveal a parallel rise in formula supplementation. Among breastfed babies born in 2023, 22.6% received formula before they were two days old, compared with 16.9% of those born in 2016. By six months, 38.5% had received some formula, up from 33.5%.
Those numbers are not necessarily contradictory. A baby may receive both breast milk and formula and still be counted as breastfed, while the CDC’s exclusive category applies only when no other food or liquid is given.
The findings are based on surveys of US households with children aged between 19 and 35 months. The national estimates exclude US territories and are accompanied by separate 2023 breakdowns showing how breastfeeding rates vary by state and demographic group.
Overall, the latest figures point to steady gains in both the number of babies who are breastfed and the length of time breastfeeding continues. They also show that mixed feeding remains a significant part of how many American families feed their children.
