Good news for babies: The number of mothers breastfeeding is rising across America. So says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a new report.

From 2000 to 2008, the proportion of mothers who breastfed their infants rose from 70.3 percent to 74.6 percent.

Even better, the proportion of mothers who were breastfeeding after six months jumped from 34.5 percent to 44.4 percent during the same period.

Why is this good? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for a baby’s first six months and continued breastfeeding for the second six months, along with solid foods. In a policy statement published last year, the academy credited breast milk with reducing the risk of serious colds, respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, ear infections, sudden infant death syndrome, type 1 diabetes, obesity, gastrointestinal tract infections and myriad other health problems.

And despite the many signs of progress, the CDC researchers still saw the glass as half empty.

“Despite increases in the prevalence of breastfeeding, fewer than half of the infants in the survey were still breastfeeding at 6 months, indicating that women who choose to breastfeed their infants need support to continue breastfeeding,” they wrote.

The data are based on answers provided in the National Immunization Survey, which is conducted four times a year by phone.