Abstract: Objective To analyze the duration of exclusive breastfeeding in premature infants and its influencing factors, to provide a basis for the continuous improvement of exclusive breastfeeding quality in premature infants. Methods According to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, premature infants who were hospitalized in the NICU preterm birth area of a tertiary maternal and child health care hospital in Changsha City from October 2020 to January 2021 were selected as the research subjects. The information related to the duration of exclusive breastfeeding of premature infants during hospitalization were extracted from the HIS system, and the influencing factors of the duration of exclusive breastfeeding of premature infants were investigated by independent sample t-test, analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression analysis. Results The duration of exclusive breastfeeding in premature infants was （3.61±2.43） months. There was a statistically significant difference in the duration of exclusive breast-feeding between premature infants with different maternal employment, whether twins or not, different delivery mode, whether family members supported breast-feeding, and different lactation times （all P<0.05 or P<0.01）. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the mother was unemployed （β'=0.193）, non-twin （ β'= 0.270）, and family members did not support breastfeeding （ β'=-0.242） were related to the duration of exclusive breastfeeding in premature infants （all P<0.01）. Conclusions The duration of exclusive breastfeeding of premature infants needs to be improved urgently. Maternal employment, twins, and family support for breastfeeding are the influencing factors for the duration of exclusive breastfeeding of premature infants.

Key words: Premature infant, Breastfeeding, Duration, Family support, Influencing factor