Human Milk Feeding Status of Preterm Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in China

Background: Previous low human milk feeding rates in Chinese neonatal intensive care units of preterm infants were reported. There are no nationwide data on these. Research Aims: To investigate the current status of human milk feeding for preterm infants in Chinese units and provide baseline data for future research. Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted from a previously established clinical database including 25 Chinese neonatal intensive care units. All infants born Results: A total of 24,113 infants were included. The overall and exclusive human milk feeding rates were 58.2% and 18.8%, respectively, which increased significantly during study years. We found that rates of human milk feeding decreased with increase in gestational age and birth weight. There was significant variation in human milk feeding rates among units. Most participating Chinese neonatal intensive care units have taken measures to improve the rates of human milk feeding. Conclusions: The human milk feeding rates in Chinese neonatal intensive care units have continued to increase in the past 3 years, but there was significant variation among them. More efforts are needed to further increase the human milk feeding rates in China.