Breastfeeding: a public health challenge.

Since antiquity, breastfeeding has been known to benefit the infant. In the past 40 years, some of the reasons have been discovered such as the provision of complete infant nutrition, transfer of antibodies leading to a decreased incidence of infectious disease and psychosocial benefit to both the mother and child. Yet, in spite of this knowledge and increased national and international attention, the United States has not achieved its goal of 75% of mothers who are breastfeeding their infants at hospital discharge. Physicians play a vital role in the encouragement and sustaining of breastfeeding. Each should encourage all new mothers to breastfeeding for the benefits to both the infant and the mother.