Looking at data from the CDC on breastfeeding rates in the US from 2012-2019, I notice...not a whole lot. There has been virtually no movement for any of the measures, whether it's percentage receiving any breastfeeding ever or exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months and 1 year. These curves are flatter than the pesky flat nipples some of us moms had to coerce into peaks during those early days of feeding.
What does that mean? I don't know. I suppose if there have been large-scale interventions to improve breastfeeding rates, they...didn't work. There is a HUGE, gaping opportunity to make improvements. The challenges for moms to breastfeed as long as they would like to are multi-pronged and some are systemic---including lack of insurance-covered education and support, inadequate paid parental leave, and unfriendly workplace pumping situations.