Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Jun 16:4:6.
doi: 10.1186/1746-4358-4-6.

Breastfeeding in China: a review

Fenglian Xu  1 , Liqian Qiu, Colin W Binns, Xiaoxian Liu
Affiliations

Breastfeeding in China: a review

Fenglian Xu et al. Int Breastfeed J. .

Abstract

This review aims to describe changes in breastfeeding and summarise the breastfeeding rates, duration and reasons of discontinuing 'any breastfeeding' or 'exclusive breastfeeding' in P.R. China. Breastfeeding rates in China fell during the 1970s when the use of breast milk substitutes became widespread, and reached the lowest point in the 1980s. As a result many efforts were introduced to promote breastfeeding. The breastfeeding rate in China started to increase in the 1990s, and since the mid-1990s 'any breastfeeding' rates in the majority of cities and provinces, including minority areas, have been above 80% at four months. But most cities and provinces did not reach the national target of 'exclusive breastfeeding' of 80%. The 'exclusive breastfeeding' rates in minority areas were relatively lower than comparable inland provinces. The mean duration of 'any breastfeeding' in the majority of cities or provinces was between seven and nine months. The common reasons for ceasing breastfeeding, or introducing water or other infant food before four months, were perceived breast milk insufficiency, mother going to work, maternal and child illness and breast problems. Incorrect traditional perceptions have a strong adverse influence on 'exclusive breastfeeding' in less developed areas or rural areas. China is a huge country, geographically and in population size, and there is considerable ethnic diversity. Therefore breastfeeding rates in different parts of China can vary considerably.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The provinces and the major cities of PR China.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Breastfeeding rates (%) at four months from cohort studies, P.R. China.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Exclusive breastfeeding rates (%) at four months from cross-sectional or retrospective studies in P.R. China. (For those provinces or cities with more than one study, the latest available results are shown in Figure 3.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO Collaborative Study Team on the Role of Breastfeeding on the Prevention of Infant Mortality: Effect of breastfeeding on infant and child mortality due to infectious diseases in less developed countries: a pooled analysis. Lancet. 2000;355:451–455. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)82011-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Scott JA LM, Hughes RM, Binns CW. Factors associated with breastfeeding at discharge and duration of breastfeeding. J Paediatr Child Health. 2001;37:254–261. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1754.2001.00646.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. WHO The optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. . Geneva. 2001.
    1. WHO . Report of the expert consultation on the optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. World Health Organization; 2001.
    1. National Program of Action for Child Development in China (1991–2000) 2009. http://www.few.gov.cn/fzgh/et/zget90.htm Accessed 9 June 2009.