Definition: Percentage of newborns fed breast milk during their hospitalization, by type of breastfeeding and race/ethnicity (e.g., in 2020-2022, 63.9% of Hispanic/Latino infants born in a hospital to California mothers were breastfed exclusively during their hospitalization).
Data Source: California Dept. of Public Health, In-Hospital Breastfeeding Initiation Data (Aug. 2025).
Footnote: Race/ethnicity is based upon the mother's and father's race/ethnicity as reported on the birth certificate. Race/ethnicity categories are mutually exclusive. Sums across categories may be lower than California totals due to cases with unknown race/ethnicity. Newborns who receive breast milk only during their hospitalization are included in both 'any breastfeeding' and 'exclusive breastfeeding' categories; newborns who receive both breast milk and formula are included in 'any breastfeeding' but not in 'exclusive breastfeeding.' Data are based on feedings from birth to the time of specimen collection by the Newborn Screening Program (usually 24 to 48 hours after birth). County-level data reflect the mother's county of residence. The notation S refers to numbers that have been suppressed because there were fewer than 10 cases in that group and to percentages that have been suppressed because there were fewer than 20 cases in that group. Number data for 2020-2022 are not comparable with earlier years and have been marked N/A (not available).
