Breastfeeding is recommended for six months by medical experts as breastfeeding is good for bother mother and the baby. The mother of the milk gives natural immunity to the child against various diseases and contains essential nutrients for the child's growth. 

Moreover breastfeeding reduces risk of ovarian and breast cancer, hip fractures and osteoporosis in later years.

The recent survey by two U.S. health agencies reveals that the rate of breastfeeding is not satisfactory hence more efforts have to done to motivate women to breastfeed for longer duration. The survey was conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of Women's Health, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The data revealed that in 1999, about 68 percent of U.S. women breastfed their babies in the days right after birth this rate had increased to 74 percent in the 2005-2006.

However only 32 percent of women breastfed their children till age of 6 months in 1999 as compared to 43 percent in 2005-2006. But this number fell further as only 13 percent women breastfed one-year-old babies as compared to 22 percent in 2005-2006.

Health experts said that in the decade after the federal government issued a "Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding," some progress has been made, but it was still not enough.