Breastfeeding provides a variety of important benefits for infants, mothers, families, society, and environment. It is the
normal, preferred feeding for all infants, including premature and sick babies, with rare exceptions (American Academy of
Pediatrics, 1997). Breast milk benefits the newborn infant by providing the ideal balance of nutrients, enzymes, immunoglobulin,
anti-infective and anti-inflammatory substances, hormones, and growth factors. Breastfeeding helps the mother return to the
physiologic pre-pregnant state. It benefits both mother and child by providing a time of intense, nurturing, maternal-infant
interaction. In addition, breastfeeding provides social and economic benefits to the family, including reduced health care
costs and reduced employee absenteeism for care related to children's illnesses.
Percentage of Mothers Breastfeeding Exclusively at Two Months Postpartum by County, New Mexico 1997-2010
Data Notes
The following county estimates were combined due to small number of surveys: Colfax & Union; Catron & Sierra; De Baca & Harding
& Quay; Guadelupe & San Miguel.
U.S. value is 2008 median value for 29 participating states.
Question wording: Did you ever breastfeed or pump breast milk to feed your new baby after delivery?
How many weeks or months did you breastfeed or pump milk to feed your baby?
How old was your new baby the first time you fed him or her anything besides breast milk?
Data Sources
New Mexico Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, Family Health Bureau, New Mexico Department of Health.
The percentage of mothers who ever breastfed and were breastfeeding exclusively at two months.
How We Calculated the Rates
Numerator:
The number of PRAMS survey respondents who indicated they were breastfeeding at each of the two time periods.
Denominator:
The total number of women in the PRAMS survey sample.
Page Content Updated On 05/25/2012,
Published on 06/14/2012
Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System, New Mexico Department of Health, Public Health Division, Family Health Bureau, Santa Fe, NM. Telephone: (505) 476-8890
The information provided above is from the New Mexico Department of
Health's NM-IBIS web site
(http://ibis.health.state.nm.us). The information published on this
website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following
citation: "Retrieved Wed, 22 May 2013 12:09:13
from New Mexico Department of Health, Indicator-Based
Information System for Public Health Web site: http://ibis.health.state.nm.us".