Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin this week issued a call to action to support breastfeeding, saying it needs to be made easier for women to perform the practice.
About 75 percent of U.S. babies start out breastfeeding, but only 13 percent are still exclusively breastfeeding at the end of six months, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The surgeon's general office said women point to many obstacles to breastfeeding. They may find no support from family members and don't have time or a private place to pump at work.
Benjamin outlines ways families, employers and health care professionals can make it easier to breast feed. They include:
* Communities should expand programs that give mothers peer counseling and support
* Clinicians should promote breastfeeding to patients and make sure they have information on how to breastfeed
* Employees should provide women with break time and a private space to pump. They should also create lactation support programs.
Research has shown that breastfeeding protects babies from infection and illnesses, such as diarrhea, infections and pneumonia. Breastfed babies are also less likely to develop asthma, according to the surgeon general's office.
Babies who breastfeed for six months are less likely to become obese. Breastfeeding is also good for moms who have a decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancers.