These are some impressive national numbers!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/04/30/breastfeeding.ap/index.html

That's great that so many women are at least trying to BF.

I must say though, that these studies only ask a handful of people, so I don't know that it is an accurate guage of how many people are actually BF. I do hope it's true.

I have noticed alot of women at least giving it a try around here. My BF class when I was preggo were full, and all of us said we were at least going to give it a try. And for that, I was proud.

We still need a local support/info group on BF here (at least more that 2 LC for the entire county). Tuscaloosa is amazingly lacking in that department.

Thanks for posting, LawMommy. Interesting.
Here's a story in the TNews today saying Alabama lags behind the national numbers...

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080501/NEWS/111568733/1005

Lanks LawMommy!

Kristi - this tusc news article, coupled with the poll results so far, are just depressing.

I love Alabama, I really do. But I am downright embarassed at how far behind the times we are in some regards.

The article was right about how unsupportive doctors here can be of BF. My first peds wife had Bf all of their children, so he was very supportive of that, but he had other issues and I didn't stay with him. But I have come across other docs that just don't think you should BF, which I think is sooo sad. Hopefully this program can start changing mids around here and start giving more support to women who want to BF.

I'd like to know more about the local program and how many doctors they plan to reach. btw, the article said that Alabama has a law protecting BF on government property - that is incorrect. It protects a woman's right to BF in any public place in the state where she is otherwise authorized to be, much broader than just on state property. Still it's true it has no enforcement provisions.
Ronaldsmom, there used to be a local La Leche league group that met here at least once a month, maybe more, but I am not sure if they're still active or not.

I know there is still one in B-ham, but I never heard of one here from the LC when I took the class and had Ronald, so I don't think they were active as of a year ago. Who knows, they may have started back up. I would be interested to know if they had, so I could join when I decide to have #2.

I found this info on LLL's website, but I have no way of knowing if it's current. This is the group I was thinking of, run by the same woman running it 7+ years ago, but this is theinfo listed, so maybe they're still active.
http://www.lllalmsla.org/tuscaloosa.html

It is sad that our breastfeeding rates are so low in Alabama.

A quote from the article: "Mothers who are very young, poor or uninsured are more likely not to breastfeed, even though breast milk is a more economical option than formula."

Really formula IS an economical option, because many lower income families qualify for WIC and get formula for free. I hope I don't offend anyone , but I think that's part of the problem. Why breastfeed, when you can get free formula? IMO more women would breastfeed if they had to pay for the formula. I'm glad we have WIC, but I feel the free formula should be limited to mothers that truly need it, such as women that are unable to breastfeed for medical reasons (mother doesn't produce milk, baby needs formula supplementation for medical reasons, mother has HIV, etc...) and women that have to return to work and are unable to pump or can't pump enough to feed the baby.

The choice to formula feed or breastfeed is a personal choice and is influenced by many different factors. If someone chooses to feed their baby formula, that is their choice. But, I don't understand the logic behind choosing to formula feed when you and the baby are physically able to breastfeed and then expecting the formula to be purchased for you by taxpayers.

Other than the many health benefits, economic reasons are the main reason I BF. Formula is very expensive and it would be a real struggle for us to purchase it.

I agree that there could be problems with the structure of WIC. My understanding, though, is that they generally promote BF-ing and that they also give vouchers for extra food for BF-ing mothers. But I don't know specifics or how supportive they are of breastfeeding on the whole.
And don't get me started on the free formula pushed at doctors' offices and at the hospital before you take the baby home.