Bottom Line: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends providing interventions or referrals, during pregnancy and after birth, to support breastfeeding. The association between breastfeeding and health benefits in children has been previously well established; health benefits have also been found for women who breastfeed. However, breastfeeding rates in the U.S. are relatively modest; as of 2021, 59.8% of infants at age 6 months are breastfed and 27.2% of infants at that age are exclusively breastfed. The USPSTF routinely makes recommendations about the effectiveness of preventive care services and this recommendation updates and is consistent with the 2016 recommendation statement on primary care interventions to support breastfeeding.
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(doi:10.1001/jama.2025.3650)
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Note : More information about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, its process, and its recommendations can be found on the newsroom page of its website.
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