Abstract: Objective To investigate the incidence of delayed initiation of stage Ⅱ lactation and analyze the related behavioral factors of mothers and infants, to provide reference for the guidance of lactation. Methods From June 2020 to December 2021, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 2 103 parturients in 2 hospitals in Zhengzhou to obtain their personal information, calculated the incidence of delayed initiation of stage Ⅱ lactation and analyzed the correlation between pregnancy and postpartum behavior and the delayed initiation of stage Ⅱ lactation. Results A total of 2 064 effective subjects were obtained. There were 456 cases of delayed initiation of stage Ⅱ lactation, and the incidence rate was 22.09%. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that delivery modes （OR=2.438 ）, direct rooming-in （OR=0.393）, school study for pregnant women during pregnancy （OR=0.773）, prenatal breastfeeding guidance （OR=0.850）, postpartum mother-to-infant contact time （OR=0.640）, postpartum lactation （OR=0.723）, first breast sucking time （OR=2.021）, and daily breast sucking frequency （OR=0.693） were the influencing behaviors of delayed initiation of stage Ⅱ lactation. Conclusions The delayed initiation of stage Ⅱ lactation in Zhengzhou is related to a variety of behaviors during pregnancy and postpartum, such as delivery modes, direct rooming-in, school study for pregnant women, prenatal breastfeeding guidance, postpartum mother-to-infant contact time, postpartum lactation, first breast sucking time, and daily breast sucking frequency. Sufficient attention should be paid to the above behaviors to increase lactation promotion behaviors so as to improve breastfeeding rate.

Key words: Lactation, Parturient, Delayed initiation of lactation, Breastfeeding, Influencing behavior