A breastfeeding resource from the American College of Nurse-Midwives

Breastfeeding Survey

This survey of 1,002 mothers - members of the Impulse Research CyberPulse^TM Advisory Panel - was conducted online in order to assess attitudes and opinions about breastfeeding among women in the United States. The survey explored women's preferences and concerns about breastfeeding and breast pumps.

The mothers who were surveyed breastfed their infants for an average of 7.4 months. Almost one-quarter (24.5%) breastfed for 3 to 6 months, and a little over 10% of mothers said they did not breastfeed at all.

Half of the surveyed mothers (50.5%) said that they anticipated breastfeeding longer than they did. Women cited that they weren't or aren't able to breastfeed as long as they wanted to for several reasons, most often due to lack of freedom and flexibility (26.7%), followed by time commitment (24.7%) and lastly, pain and discomfort (20.9%). Just about two-thirds of the women (65.4 %) said that they would be more likely to breastfeed longer if it required less of their time.

When surveyed about breast pump use, almost 40% of the mothers cited they use or used a pump once or twice a day. Almost 7 out of 10 women (69.9%) said they would use a pump more frequently if it were more convenient and almost two-thirds (61.7%) said they would breastfeed longer if they could use a pump anywhere. Mothers want more comfort when breast pumping with more than half (55.6%) saying they would breastfeed longer if a pump were more natural feeling. A personalized pump designed to respond to a breastfeeding mom's needs is important for the majority of respondents (70.7%) saying if they could control the speed, suction and rhythm of their pump, they would continue to breastfeed longer.

U.S. Breastfeeding Survey. Impulse Research Corporation, 24 May 2006.

(This survey was administered to breastfeeding mothers who are members of an online advisory panel for Impulse Research. As such, their breastfeeding patterns and opinions may not mirror those of all breastfeeding women in the United States.)

Page Created 11/27/2006
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