Prepregnancy obesity and breastfeeding noninitiation in the United States: an examination of racial and ethnic differences

Prepregnancy overweight/obesity can adversely affect breastfeeding initiation, but studies examining this association among different racial/ethnic groups of U.S. women are limited. This study used a large, nationally representative sample to assess racial/ethnic differences in breastfeeding noninitiation among U.S. women of different body mass index (BMI) classifications. This study analyzed data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, including 95,141 women who delivered a live, singleton baby from 2009 to 2011 and provided BMI and breastfeeding information. Prepregnancy BMI was categorized as underweight (