2023 North Carolina Breastfeeding Report

The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee is thrilled to announce the launch of the 2023 State and Territory Breastfeeding ReportsThese expansive reports were developed to educate policymakers and the public on the status of breastfeeding where they live, compare their data to national averages, and highlight opportunities to address gaps in breastfeeding support.

Each report describes how breastfeeding rates in the state/territory and other measures compare to national levels, lists the coalitions serving communities in the state, and highlights state and community-based lactation projects made possible through federal funding in 2021 and 2022.

In the North Carolina Breastfeeding Report, we see that North Carolina’s breastfeeding initiation rate is 81.6%, compared to the national rate of 84.1%. Additionally, federal investments in breastfeeding and lactation projects include support from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources & Service Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (HRSA, MCHB), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

View the North Carolina Breastfeeding Report below to read more about how breastfeeding rates and other policy, environmental and systems-related measures in North Carolina compare to national rates.