Our Findings:
International reports estimate that while approximately 95% of babies have been breastfed at least once, only 48% of infants are exclusively breastfed for the recommended first six months (UNICEF, 2018; UNICEF & WHO, 2023).
Rates also vary across lower-and middle-resource countries (Corkery-Hayward & Talaei, 2024), with 4% of infants not breastfed in lower resource countries, and 21% in higher-resource settings (UNICEF, 2018).
Indigeneity has also been shown to be associated with lower breastfeeding rates in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States (Sheppard et al., 2017; Monteith et al., 2024).
Within Canada, the breastfeeding initiation rate among non-Indigenous birthing parents is 91%, while for Indigenous parents it falls to 77.8% (Government of Canada, 2024; Romano et al., 2019).
Exclusive breastfeeding rates are also lower. Compared to 38% for the general population, the rate is significantly lower at 16.5% for Indigenous families (Government of Canada, 2024; Romano et al., 2019).
UNICEF. (2018). Breastfeeding: A Mother's Gift, for Every Child. New York; UNICEF. Retrieved fromhttps://www.unicef.org/media/48046/file/UNICEF_Breastfeeding_A_Mothers_Gift_for_Every_Child.pdfWHO, & UNICEF. (2023). Global breastfeeding scorecard 2023. Global Breastfeeding
Scorecard 2023. https://www.unicef.org/media/150586/file/Global%20breastfeeding%20scorecard%202023.pdf
Corkery-Hayward, M., & Talaei, M. (2024). Teleintervention’s effects on breastfeeding in low-income women in high income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
International Breastfeeding Journal, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-024-00631-2
Monteith, H., Checholik, C., Galloway, T., Sahak, H., Shawanda, A., Liu, C., & Hanley, A. J. (2024). Infant feeding experiences among indigenous communities in Canada, the United States, Australia, and Aotearoa: A scoping review of the qualitative literature. BMC Public Health, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19060-1
Sheppard, A. J., Shapiro, G. D., Bushnik, T., Wilkins, R., Perry, S., Kaufman, J. S., Kramer, M. S., & Yang, S. (2017, November 15). Birth outcomes among First Nations, Inuit and Métis populations. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2017011/article/54886-eng.htm
Romano, I., Cooke, M., & Wilk, P. (2019). Factors affecting initiation and duration of breastfeeding among off-reserve Indigenous children in Canada. International Indigenous Policy Journal, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.18584/iipj.2019.10.1.5
Government of Canada. (2024). Canada’s breastfeeding dashboard - health infobase. Canada’s breastfeeding dashboard 2024 Edition. https://health-infobase.canada.ca/breastfeeding/
