Prevalence of Breastfeeding: Findings from the First Health Service Household Interview in Hunan Province, China

Background: With the development of economy and urbanization, methods of child-feeding have significantly changed in China over the past three decades. However, little is known about breastfeeding in China since 2009. This study aims to update information on the prevalence of breastfeeding in China. Methods: Data were obtained from the first Health Service Household Interview Survey of Hunan Province, China. Of 24,282 respondents, 1659 were aged five years or younger. We ran multivariable logistic regression to examine the impact of urban/rural setting, gender, age and household income per capita on the use of breastfeeding. Results: A total of 79.4% of children aged 5 years or younger had been breastfed at some point and 44.9% been breastfed exclusively in the first 6 months of life. After controlling for setting urban/rural setting, gender and child age, children from households with average family income were more likely to be breastfed than those from households with the lowest family income (adjusted odds ratio: 2.28). Children from households with higher and the highest family income were less likely to be exclusively breastfed in the first 6 months of life compared to those from households with the lowest family income (adjusted odds ratio: 0.51 and 0.68, respectively). Conclusions: It is encouraging that the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding for infants in the first 6 months of life in Hunan Province, China is approaching the goal of 50% proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Nevertheless, more efforts are needed to further promote exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months after birth.