China: Breastfeeding in City, Suburban and Rural Areas

This study is an excellent comparison between city and country breastfeeding practices in China.

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Any breastfeeding rates were high before discharge at all three locations, 96.5% in city, 96.8% in suburb and 97.4% in the rural area. The exclusive breastfeeding rates in the city, suburban and rural areas before discharge were 38.0%, 63.4% and 61.0% respectively. By sixth months the any breastfeeding rates had declined to 62.8%, 76.9% and 83.6% and the exclusive breastfeeding rates had fallen to 0.2%, 0.5% and 7.2% in city, suburb and rural areas respectively. There were differences in feeding practices between the three locations, including the use of prelacteal feeds and the introduction of supplementary feeds.
Conclusions:
Mothers who lived in the city were least likely to be exclusive breastfeeding at discharge. At six months the city infants also had lower rates of any breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding.