Breastfeeding initiation and related factors in postpartum mothers in a district of Shanghai

Objective To understand the initiation of breastfeeding， and to analyze the related factors in postpartum mothers.

Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among 790 mothers whose children aged 0‒23 months.

Results The early initiation breastfeeding rate （the proportion of breastfeeding within 1 hour after birth） was 67.7%. The proportion of feeding breast milk as the first food after birth was 78.4%. 62.8% children were first breastfed within 1 hour after birth. Logistic regression analysis showed that mothers were more likely to initiate breastfeeding within 1 hour after delivery， if they delivered naturally， attended breastfeeding courses during pregnancy， believed that breastfeeding is or might be beneficial to the intellectual development of their children， intended to breastfeed their children， and were hospitalized for 1‒3 days.

Conclusion The proportion of feeding breast milk as the first food within 1 hour after birth needs to increase. Attentions should be paid to breastfeeding education during pregnancy to help mothers make correct feeding decisions， and to the advocacy for natural delivery to start a smooth initiation of breastfeeding.