Breast-, complementary and bottle-feeding practices in Kenya: stagnant trends were experienced from 1998 to 2009

Abstract

The pattern of infant and young child feeding that provides the most benefit includes being put to the breast within an hour of birth, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, continued breastfeeding along with complementary foods up to 2 years of age or beyond, and avoidance of any bottle-feeding. However, since there are no published data from Kenya regarding trends in these feeding practices, this research undertook time trend estimation of these feeding practices using the 1998, 2003, and 2008-2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey and also examined the multivariate relationships between sociodemographic factors and feeding practices with data from 2008 to 2009. Logistic regression was used to test the significance of trends and to analyze sociodemographic characteristics associated with feeding practices. There was a significant decline in early initiation of breastfeeding among children in Central and Western provinces and those residing in urban areas. Trends in exclusive breastfeeding showed significant improvement in most sociodemographic segments, whereas trends in complementary feeding and breastfeeding remained stable. Bottle-feeding significantly decreased among children aged 12 to 23 months, as well as those living in Coast, Eastern, and Rift Valley provinces. In the multivariate analysis, the province was significantly associated with feeding practices, after controlling for child's size, birth order, and parity. The stagnant (and in some cases worsening) trends in early initiation of breastfeeding and complementary feeding with breastfeeding paint a worrisome picture of breastfeeding practices in Kenya; therefore, efforts to promote the most beneficial feeding practices should be intensified.

Changes in Optimal Childcare Practices in Kenya: Insights from the 2003, 2008-9 and 2014 Demographic and Health Surveys

“…There is a possibility that health promotion campaigns to encourage use of ITNs, proper disposal of child’s stool, and complete immunization did not yield uniform results across the country and that other contextual issues in Nairobi and Nyanza regions need to be investigated. Regional differences in other childcare practices such as breastfeeding have also been noted in other studies in Kenya [34,50,51] and have highlighted existence of complex array of factors including cultural and socioeconomic that come into play when providing care to children.…”

“…Research conducted on urban-rural differences in childcare practices, has found significant differences in treatment seeking for child fever [32] and child illness [33] favoring urban compared to rural households. Matanda and colleagues found different time trend patterns of breast- and complementary feeding depending on geographic region and urban/rural residence in Kenya [34]. Other studies have also found indications that urban poor children are actually worse off than their rural counterparts [29,30].…”

Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Bottle Feeding Practices in Infants Under Two Years of Age: A hospital-based study in Woldia, Ethiopia

“…7 Bottle feeding is generally not recommended as it can lead to an increased incidence of excessive weight gain, diarrhea, infection, malnutrition, increased mortality, iron depletion, and decreased birth spacing. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Even the expressed breast milk could increase infant weight gain if it is fed by the bottle. 16 Globally, 45%, or 3.1 million, of child deaths are attributable to undernutrition annually; this problem is severe in low income countries.…”

“…14 Increasing appropriate complementary feeding has the potential to prevent 6% of all under-5 deaths, particularly in the developing countries. 5 Numerous studies in various countries have shown that being an urban resident, 17,18 not being counseled on bottle feeding education, 18,19 the infant being hospitalized, 18 low infant age, 19 being a homemaker, not obtaining postnatal care, lower mother's age, 19 being an employed mother, hospital delivery, high infant age, 9,17 higher maternal education level, high wealth index, 17,20,21 as well as workload and short maternity leave 20,21 were contributing factors for bottle feeding. Previous research inconsistently reported factors associated with bottle feeding practice, especially sociodemographic variables, infant age, and mothers' educational and occupational status.…”

Comparison of Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Between Adolescent and Adult Mothers at a Maternity Hospital in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

“…2,4 Analyses in the course of the last years demonstrate that, around the world, the breastfeeding rates have stagnated in developed and developing countries, evidencing the need to strengthen the successful programs and to develop new strategies that are sensitive to the situation of women who breastfeed and their families. [37][38][39] Identifying the self-efficacy levels in the immediate postpartum and the postpartum women at greater risk for early weaning and who need greater support is an important strategy for health professionals, as women with difficulties to start and establish breastfeeding present low levels of self-efficacy and are particularly vulnerable to interrupting breastfeeding in the first 72h after birth. 40 The comparison of the self-efficacy results between adult and adolescent postpartum women presented no statistically significant difference between these two groups, which appoints that maternal age as an isolated variable did not influence the level of maternal self-efficacy in breastfeeding in the immediate postpartum.…”