Americans have strongly positive views toward breastfeeding as a method of feeding infants, a new YouGov survey finds. Other methods, such as baby formula or pumped breast milk, are also viewed favorably, but less so than breastfeeding.
Overall, 84% of Americans have a very or somewhat favorable view of breastfeeding, while 80% view pumped breast milk favorably and 65% say the same of baby formula. The lead for breastfeeding is even greater for those with very favorable views: 68% see breastfeeding very favorably, compared to 50% for pumped breast milk and 36% for baby formula.
Americans with college degrees are especially favorable toward breastfeeding and pumped breast milk. 90% of college graduates hold a favorable view of breastfeeding, compared to 81% of non-graduates.
Especially positive views about breastfeeding among college-educated Americans correspond with higher rates of breastfeeding among parents with college degrees. 50% of college-educated parents say breastfeeding was the primary way their own children are or were fed, compared to 29% of parents without college degrees. 39% of college-educated parents say baby formula was their primary feeding method, compared to 63% of parents without college degrees.
Among Americans who have ever had children, younger adults are more likely than older ones to say breastfeeding is or was their primary feeding method. Among parents who are 18 to 29, 49% say breastfeeding is the main way they fed or feed their children and 39% say formula, while among Americans 65 or older who have had children, 34% primarily breastfed and 60% primarily used formula.
Most Americans say breastfeeding beats bottle feeding as a method of mother-baby bonding (71% vs. 2% who say bottle feeding is better). But breastfeeding is less likely to be seen as a better method than bottle feeding for father-baby bonding (12% vs. 49%). Americans are more divided about whether breastfeeding or bottle feeding is better for parents’ quality of life (33% vs. 18%); 34% say both are about the same.
Among mothers who have breastfed a baby, most have good things to say about it. 77% say their experience breastfeeding was either very (51%) or somewhat (26%) favorable, while only 20% say it was very (6%) or somewhat (14%) negative.
Pumping breast milk is more divisive. A majority (61%) of mothers who have pumped breast milk say the process was positive, but only 17% call it a very positive experience. 35% of mothers who have pumped breast milk say the experience was very (10%) or somewhat (25%) negative.
There’s no dominant pattern in how long American mothers keep breastfeeding or pumping before switching to other methods of feeding. 27% of mothers who breastfed or pumped for their first child stopped when the baby was less than 6 months old, while 22% stopped when the baby was 6 to 11 months old, 20% when the baby was 12 to 17 months old, and 17% when the baby was 18 months or older.
Younger mothers who ever breastfed or pumped milk for their babies are more likely to say they continued doing so longer into their first child’s life. 26% of mothers who are 18 to 29 and breast fed or pumped milk for their first child say they did so for 18 months or more, compared to 15% of those 65 or older. Among mothers who breast fed or pumped, those without college degrees are more likely than college graduates to say they stopped breastfeeding or pumping when their baby was less than 6 months old (31% vs. 22%).
Americans also have no consensus about the pressure mothers may feel to breastfeed. 23% of Americans say there’s too much pressure to breastfeed, while 14% say there’s not enough pressure and 33% say there’s about the right amount of pressure.
Women are more likely than men to say there’s too much pressure on women to breastfeed (32% vs. 13%). Parents and non-parents are equally likely to say there’s too much pressure (23% each). Non-mothers (36%) are more likely to say there’s too much pressure than mothers who didn’t breastfeed (32%) or mothers who did breastfeed (28%).
Whether their kids were breastfed or not, almost all (97%) American parents say they’ve at least occasionally fed a baby a bottle of milk. Among non-parents, 52% say they’ve ever fed a baby a bottle. Non-parent women are much more likely to have fed a baby a bottle than men who aren't parents (68% vs. 39%). Women are more likely than men to have ever fed a baby a bottle among many groups of Americans: young and old adults, those from lower and higher income families, and Democrats, Independents, and Republicans.
Related:
- One in nine Americans say they have been affected by the baby-formula shortage
- Almost seven in 10 Americans are comfortable with women breastfeeding next to them in public
Methodology: The poll was conducted among 3,348 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of U.S. adult citizens. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 2%.
Image: Getty (Galina Zhigalova)
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