Mohamed Bughrara

Breastfeeding is legal in all fifty states, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, thanks to protections granted by the Affordable Care Act. Out of those 50 states, 30 of them have laws governing breastfeeding in the workplace, and Georgia is one of them. 

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, breastfeeding should be continued until at least the child is one year old. But it is ultimately up to individual parents to make their own decisions when it comes to breastfeeding or formula-feeding a baby. The vast majority of Americans have at some point tried breastfeeding their child as a newborn. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that 82.6 percent of newborns have ever been nursed. In Georgia, 53.1 percent of infants were breastfed at 6 months, while 33.7 percent were breastfed at 12 months. Breastfeeding indicators are determined based on the year of the child’s birth rather than the year of the survey.

Georgia state authorized the human services department in 2020 to provide Medicaid coverage for lactation care and services to pregnant and lactating mothers, as well as children who are nursing or receiving mother’s milk.