Background To achieve optimal infant growth, development, and health, the World Health Organization (WHO, 2015) recommends that women practice exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for at least the first 6 months of an infant's life. According to WHO (2015), EBF is defined as feeding human milk only (including expressed mother's milk or milk from a wet nurse). Despite widespread knowledge about the benefits and recommended duration of breastfeeding, globally, only 37% of infants under 6 months of age were exclusively breastfed in low-and middle-income countries (Victora et al., 2016). Bhutan is classified as one of the lower-middle-income countries in Asia (World Bank, 2016). EBF until 6 months of age has been found to have many benefits for both women and their infants, particularly in protection against gastrointestinal infections and pneumonia (WHO, 2018). In Bhutan, a large number of infants under the age of one year still suffer from morbidities that continue to contribute to a high infant mortality rate (Bhutan Health Management & Information System [BHMIS], 2018). For example, while statistics are not available for the total number of infants under one year of age in Bhutan, in 2017 public health records indicate that infants under one year of age (BHMIS, 2018) suffered from diarrhea (n = 3,050), dysentery (n = 213), otitis media (n = 439), pneumonia (n = 1,957), 801289J HLXXX10.
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