Abstract
Breastfeeding practices are critical for child health and growth. This paper investigates demographic factors, socioeconomic status, and information sources that affect breastfeeding practices in Sindh Province, Pakistan. A secondary analysis was performed of data on 10,028 women with a birth in the preceding two years who had participated in the 2013–14 Maternal and Child Health Program Indicator Survey. Multiple logistic regressions were used to test the association between breastfeeding status (ever breastfed and still breastfeeding) and age, number of living children, residence, education, wealth, information sources about breastfeeding, assistance during delivery, and place of delivery. Of the 9955 women included in the analysis, 97.9% had breastfed and 83.9% were still breastfeeding at the time of the survey. Being in the second, third, or fourth wealth quintiles and receiving breastfeeding information from relatives and friends were associated with ever breastfeeding. Women who were 35 years or older, living in a town/small city, higher maternal education, middle wealth quintile, and receiving breastfeeding information from the media were associated with still breastfeeding. The findings suggest the need to develop interventions considering maternal socioeconomic status and peer counseling interventions. Mass media campaigns to promote breastfeeding practices should be accompanied by governmental restrictions on the marketing of infant formula.
Highlights
Optimal breastfeeding practices improve the survival, health, and development of children [1].Benefits of breast milk include enhanced cognitive development [2], an optimized immune system [3], reduced risk of some autoimmune and atopic diseases [4,5], obesity [6] and leukemia [7] of children.Int
The still breastfeeding rate was higher when women lived in a large city (85.3%), had received no education (85.8%), were in the lowest wealth quintile (87.1%), received no information from health professional (84.6%) or media (85.1%), received attendance during delivery from a traditional birth attendant (85.7%) and were surveyed in 2013 (86.2%) (Table 1)
We could not examine or adjust for the type and quality of breastfeeding practices including early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding, prelacteal and supplemental feeding. These are essential World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, which advise that breastfeeding should begin within the first hour of life and exclusive breastfeeding should be sustained for six months after birth [1]
Summary
Optimal breastfeeding practices improve the survival, health, and development of children [1].Benefits of breast milk include enhanced cognitive development [2], an optimized immune system [3], reduced risk of some autoimmune and atopic diseases [4,5], obesity [6] and leukemia [7] of children.Int. Optimal breastfeeding practices improve the survival, health, and development of children [1]. Benefits of breast milk include enhanced cognitive development [2], an optimized immune system [3], reduced risk of some autoimmune and atopic diseases [4,5], obesity [6] and leukemia [7] of children. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 1689; doi:10.3390/ijerph16101689 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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