Objectives: Using data from the ELFE study (French Longitudinal Study from Early Childhood), this article presents the prevalence of breastfeeding in the maternity ward according to parental characteristics and delivery conditions. Methods: The Elfe study includes more than 18,000 infants born throughout 2011 in a random sample of maternity wards in mainland France. Data on infant feeding were collected in the maternity ward via a questionnaire administered face-to-face by medical staff. Results: More than two-thirds of infants (70.5%) received breast milk in the maternity ward (59.0% exclusively, 11.5% in combination with infant formula). This average rate masked significant differences depending on the birth context and parental characteristics. Breastfeeding rates were lower in cases of birth complications, as well as among infants whose parents were born in France, were manual laborers, office workers, or unemployed, and among those whose mothers had a middle level of education. Breastfeeding rates also decreased when the mother was a smoker, had little involvement in prenatal preparation, and when she was underweight or overweight before pregnancy. These same social characteristics reinforced the division of choices between exclusive breastfeeding and partial breastfeeding, with the exception of student and foreign mothers, who practiced partial breastfeeding more than others, despite their strong propensity to breastfeed. Conclusion: the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in the maternity ward varies according to numerous characteristics of the parents, the births, and the delivery. Most of these characteristics also influence the choice of exclusive breastfeeding over partial breastfeeding. The identified factors provide avenues for developing specific breastfeeding promotion initiatives targeting groups of mothers least inclined to breastfeed. (R.A.)