Breastfeeding Status On Birth Certificates

Interesting news to come out of the journal Pediatrics: Approximately 79 percent of states collect breastfeeding information for birth certificates; the other 21 percent will most probably do so within two years. However, information collection methods vary amongst states. In Breastfeeding Status on US Birth Certificates: Where Do We Go From Here? researchers contacted the vital statistics registrars in each of the 50 states, in addition to New York City, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. Around 57 percent of the registrars already report breastfeeding status on state birth certificates, but the questions used to collect the information are not standardized. Most states use the Standard Certificate of Live Birth (SCLB) breastfeeding questionnaire, but six states, New York City, and Washington, DC, developed their own questions. The authors of the study recommend that a revised, standardized questionnaire be developed, focusing on in-hospital exclusive breastfeeding.