For the past centuries, breast-feeding has been the customary means of feeding a baby around the world. In the event a woman was unable or unwilling to breast-feed their child, another woman, known as a wet nurse, would do it for her. At the start of the twentieth century, western civilization became dependant on ways to make cow's milk readily available as a substitute for mother's milk by such procedures as, dependable refrigeration, pasteurization, and sterilization. Over the course of the next half-century, formula feeding became the customary means of feeding a baby in the United States (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2004, p.126).
             Breast milk is clearly the best intake for infants. Infants are able to digest breast milk better than formula. Mother's milk is a complete source of nutrients for infants for at least the first six months (Papalia, Olds, & Feldman, 2004, p.126). The National Immunization Program is partnered with the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics to conduct the National Immunization Survey (NIS). This survey was initially designed to find the current, national, state, and selected urban areas estimation of vaccination treatments. Starting in January of 2003, the NIS began asking breast-feeding questions to all respondents along with the immunization survey. The National Immunization Survey uses random-digit dialing to survey households with children of an eligible age. The survey is able to offer overall population estimations for the start, length, and individuality of breast-feeding practices. "Fourteen states in the United States have achieved the national Healthy People 2010 objective of 75% of mothers initiating breast-feeding; whereas only 6 and 8 states have achieved the objective of having 50% of mothers breast-feeding their children at 6 months of age and 25% of mothers breast-feeding their children at 12 months of age, respectively" (http...