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Breastfeeding

	More info on Breastfeeding Case Study: Is low breastfeeding prevalence a health problem? Is it changing over time? Where is the problem? Who is affected? Is it changing among specific groups over time?

Introduction

Data from the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS) can be used to describe the breastfeeding behavior among infants participating in public health programs. Using PedNSS data for the 2001 reporting year from a state WIC (Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) program, an epidemiological approach will be used to describe breastfeeding prevalence in terms of time, place and person by answering the following questions:

• What: Is low breastfeeding prevalence a health problem?
• When: Is breastfeeding increasing or decreasing over time?
• Where: Where do the highest or lowest breastfeeding prevalences occur?
• Who: Which infants are most or least likely to be breastfeed?
• Who and When: Is breastfeeding prevalence increasing or decreasing among racial and ethnic groups over time?

These questions will be answered based on the PedNSS outcomes of:

• Percentage of infants ever breastfed
• Percentage of infants breastfed at 6 months
• Percentage of infants breastfed at 12 months

When using an epidemiologic approach, it is important to assess data quality before analyzing the data. For this example, assume that data quality is acceptable. The next step is to determine the extent of the health problem in the state WIC Program using PedNSS data tables.

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This page last updated April 11, 2005

United States Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity