Despite the efforts that have been made to promote breastfeeding in China since the s, there is still a very low prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding.
The objective of this study was to assess the current situation of infant feeding practices during the postpartum hospital stay in urban and rural areas of the Deyang region. Cross-sectional sampling was used in two urban hospitals and five rural clinics in the Deyang region of southwestern China.
The prevalence of Caesarean section was high in both urban and rural areas After birth, nearly all mothers One week after delivery, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was 8. Although disparities between urban and rural areas exist, the situation of infant feeding is inadequate in both settings.
Despite many efforts that have been made to promote breastfeeding in China since the s [ 4 β 7 ], the actual situation is, nevertheless, lagging far behind the proposed goals. One special report by Harney about infant formula sales in China pointed out that the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at six months of age could be as low as 0. Meanwhile, information about the proportion of young children who were breastfed up to two years of age is still not available [ 11 β 13 ].
The number of newborns was 16 million in [ 10 , 14 ]. This was the most important reformation of the one-child policy since [ 16 ]. Malnutrition is closely correlated with child mortality [ 21 ], which could be prevented by optimal feeding. Many other Chinese studies have shown similar findings as the growth of rural infants and children was behind that of children living in urban areas [ 21 β 24 ], while poor infant feeding practices including suboptimal breastfeeding were common in both areas [ 25 β 28 ].
