Breastfeeding practice in China from 2013 to 2018: a study from a national dynamic follow-up surveillance

BMC Public Health

Hanmin Liu¹  Xiaohong Li²  Leni Kang²  Qi Li²  Chunhua He²  Yanping Wang²  Juan Liang²  Lei Miao²  Zheng Liu²  Jun Zhu³  Li Dai³ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of the Ministry of Education, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China;Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 17, Section 3, South Renmin Road, 610041, Chengdu, China;National Office for Maternal and Child Health Surveillance, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China;National Office for Maternal and Child Health Surveillance, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China;Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of the Ministry of Education, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China;

关键词: Early initiation of breastfeeding;    Exclusive breastfeeding;    Trend;    Geographic disparities;    Dynamic surveillance;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-021-10211-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundBreastfeeding is important for the physical and psychological health of the mother and child. Basic data on breastfeeding practice in China are out-of-date and vary widely. This study aimed to evaluate the progress of breastfeeding practice in China, as well as to explore the bottlenecks in driving better practice.MethodsThis was an observational study. We used data from the Under-5 Child Nutrition and Health Surveillance System in China for the period 2013–2018. The prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) were calculated for each year for subgroups of China. The Cochran-Armitage test was used to explore the time trends. The annual percent of change (APC) were calculated by log-linear regression followed by exp transformation.ResultsThe prevalence of EIBF increased significantly from 44.57% (95% CI: 44.07, 45.07) in 2013 to 55.84% (95% CI: 55.29, 56.38) in 2018 (Ptrend < 0.001), with an APC of 4.67% (95% CI: 3.51, 5.85). And the prevalence of EBF increased rapidly from 16.14% (95% CI: 15.10, 17.18) to 34.90% (95% CI: 33.54, 36.26) (Ptrend < 0.001), with an APC of 14.90% (95% CI: 9.97, 20.04). Increases were observed in both urban and rural areas, with urban areas showing greater APCs for EIBF (6.05%; 95% CI: 4.22, 7.92 v.s. 2.26%; 95% CI: 1.40, 3.12) and EBF (18.21%; 95% CI: 11.53, 25.29 v.s. 9.43%; 95% CI: 5.52, 13.49). The highest EBF prevalence was observed in the East, but the Central area showed the highest APC. The prevalence of EBF decreased with increasing age within the first 6 months, especially after 3 months.ConclusionThe prevalence of both EIBF and EBF in China are improving in recent years. The rural and West China could be the key areas in the future actions. More efforts should be made to protect and promote breastfeeding to achieve near- and long-term goals for child health.

【 授权许可】

CC BY