Prevalence and factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding among Bangladeshi mothers: A nationwide cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) is associated with better health of the mothers and reduced risk of neonatal mortality. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of EIBF and associated factors among Bangladeshi mothers. Methods The data was extracted from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS)-2014. A total of 4,092 married non-pregnant Bangladeshi mothers who had at least one child aged 2 years or younger were included in this study. A two-level logistic regression model was used to remove the clustering effect for finding the impact of socio-economic and demographic factors on EIBF. Results The prevalence of EIBF among Bangladeshi mothers was 51.4% (urban: 47.1% and rural: 53.4%). A two -level logistic regression model showed that mothers living in the Sylhet division (p<0.01) and rural environment (p<0.05) were more likely to practice EIBF. Mothers who were obese or overweight (p<0.01), had secondary (p<0.05) or higher education (p<0.01) were less likely to provide early breastfeeding to their newborn babies compared to their counterparts. Those who delivered by caesarian-section (p<0.01) were less likely to perform EIBF while those who attended an antenatal care clinic more than 3 times (p<0.05) were more likely to do so. Conclusions About half of the Bangladeshi mothers did not start breast-feeding within one hour after birth. This study identified several geographical and socio-demographic factors that were associated with EIBF, and hope that this information will help the government to focus their resources to promote early breastfeeding.

Factors influencing early initiation of breastfeeding among mothers in Rajshahi district, Bangladesh

“…But our results was not supported by BDHS survey data conducted in 2014 [18] and a study from Nicaragua [30] showing no signi cant association between EIBF and place of delivery. It was noted that mothers living in poor income were more interested to provide their initial breast milk to their infants than middle incoming family, however BDHS-2014 indicated no signi cant association between EIBF and wealth index [18].…”

“…Sample size determination: The required sample size for this study was estimated using the formula: [Please see the supplementary les section to view the formula], where n= the required sample size, p is the proportion of prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding (here, p= 0.514) and z=1.96 at 95% con dence interval, and d is the margin of error, we considered d=0.05. The prevalence of initiation of breastfeeding (p value) was taken from a previous publication [18]. This formula provided that 384 sample was adequate for our present study.…”

“…Independent variables: Some socio-economic, demographic and anthropometric factors were considered as independent variables for this study. The variables were selected on the basis of previous studies [18][19][20]. All selected variables, their categories with codes are described in Table 1.…”

“…It is important to sort out the factors that in uence the early initiation of breastfeeding in order to implement strategies and interventions that could speed up the government efforts in improving early initiation of breastfeeding trend among mothers in Bangladesh. More recently, Islam et al [18] investigated the prevalence and factors associated with early initiation of breastfeeding among Bangladeshi mother using nationally representative sample collected by Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey-2014 (BDHS-2014). BDHS collected data in 2014, it was passed already 6 years, and some indicators related to early initiation of breastfeeding has been changed in Bangladesh.…”

Determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding in Peru: analysis of the 2018 Demographic and Family Health Survey

“…This contrasts with the findings of studies conducted in India [19], Ethiopia [20], and Nigeria [28], which have described that the higher the education level of the mother, the higher the likelihood of EIBF. As shown in a study performed by Islam et al [29] in Bangladesh, it is thought that other contextual factors can shape the relationship between EIBF and maternal education level. Highly educated women also have a high rate of cesarean sections, which could explain this inverse relationship in the Peruvian population.…”