Exclusive breastfeeding practice during first six months of an infant’s life in Bangladesh: a country based cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundBreastfeeding offers incredible health benefits to both child and mother. It is suggested by World Health Organization that an able mother should practice and maintain exclusive breastfeeding for first six months of her infant’s life. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding for first six months of an infant’s life in Bangladesh.MethodsData was extracted from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS-2014). BDHS-2014 collected data from 17,863 Bangladeshi married women in reproductive age from the entire country using two stages stratified cluster sampling. We included only mothers having at least one child currently aged not less than 6 months. Mothers who did not have child to breastfeed, some incomplete information and missing samples were excluded from the data set and consequently 3541 mothers were considered in the present study. Chi-square test, binary logistic regression models were used in this study.ResultsThe prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for first six months of an infant’s life in Bangladesh was 35.90%. Binary multivariable logistic regression model demonstrated that relatively less educated mothers were more likely to exclusively breastfeed their children than higher educated mothers.(AOR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.05–4.93; p < 0.05). Housewife mothers were more likely to be EBF than their counterparts (AOR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.02–1.42; p < 0.05). Higher rate of EBF was especially found among mothers who were living in Sylhet division, within 35–49 years old, and had access to mass media, had more than 4 children, had delivered at home and non-caesarean delivery, took breastfeeding counseling, antenatal and postnatal cares.ConclusionsStepwise regression model exhibited that most of the important predictors were modifiable factors for exclusive breastfeeding. Authorities should provide basic education on EBF to educated mothers, and organize more general campaign on EBF.

The Association between Ethnicity and Level of Education with Exclusive Breastfeeding Practice in the Context of the Place of Residence in Nigeria

“…Furthermore, this study revealed that mothers with higher levels of education were signi cantly associated reduced levels of EBF practice in both urban and rural areas. This agrees with earlier literature, as mothers with lower levels of education are more likely to breastfeed their infants exclusively than those with higher levels of education [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. This may be attributed to the fact that mothers with higher levels of education are likely to be engaged in the formal employment sector, which does not avail them with ample time and strength to adopt EBF practice.…”

“…Maternal education had also been identi ed as relevant and related to knowledge of EBF. In this context, mothers with lower education are more likely to breastfeed their infants exclusively than those with higher education [30], while a study revealed no signi cant relationship between level of education and the practice of EBF [31]. Another study reported that mothers with higher level of education were more likely to breastfeed exclusively for 6months [25], while [22] reported that mothers with at least primary education engaged in early initiation of breastfeeding compared to mothers with no schooling, while those with no formal education had higher odds of not practicing EBF compared to those with secondary education or higher.…”

Parental Socioeconomic Status as a determinant of breastfeeding : an analysis of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( 2013 ~ 2017 )

“…Maternal job status is variable that has been associated with breastfeeding. Previous studies 14,18,24 revealed that full-time houseswives have higher breastfeeding rates than mothers with work and the shorter the time to return to work after childbirth, the shorter the breastfeeding period. It is estimated that they stop breastfeeding because they have less time to care for the child while working.…”

“…14,15 However, several previous reports showed that the older the mothers were more likely to breastfeed than were younger mothers. [16][17][18] Oakely et al 19 reported that the younger the mother was, the less likely she was to breastfeed or to stop breastfeeding within 6 weeks. We posit that younger mothers lack knowledge and awareness of breastfeeding.…”

“…Some studies have reported a negative relationship between mothers' education level and the breastfeeding rate owing to quick return to work. 18,26 Another study showed a higher parental education level was associated with a higher breastfeeding rate and exclusive breastfeeding. 27 We found a positive association between father's education level and breastfeeding.…”