Abstract
BackgroundThe World Health Organization recommends that mothers should exclusively breastfeed their infants until 6 months of age due to the benefits for the mother and the child. There is documented evidence on exclusive breastfeeding from Ethiopia, but not specifically from Samara-Logia city administration. This study aimed to assess the factors associated with early termination of exclusive breastfeeding among mother-infant dyads in Samara-Logia, Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2018. Data were collected on 484 randomly selected mother-infant dyads. The Kaplan Meier curve with the log-rank test was used to compare the survival difference. Cox regression models were used to identify the predictors of early termination of exclusive breastfeeding.ResultsThe cumulative proportion of survival probability of exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months was 64.5%, with the median duration of 6 months. Mothers having partners with formal education [Adjusted hazard ratio (AHR): 0.58; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.39, 0.85], receiving counseling on exclusive breastfeeding at antenatal check-up [AHR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.91], giving birth in a health institution [AHR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.88], initiating breastfeeding within the first hour [AHR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.68], and perceiving breast milk adequate for the first 6 months [AHR: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.12, 0.25] were associated with lower hazard of discontinuing exclusive breastfeeding before 6 months.ConclusionThis study showed that the cumulative proportion of survival probability on exclusive breastfeeding was low in Samara-Logia city administration. Educating husbands to support their partners, strengthening infant feeding counseling, promoting institutional delivery, educating women about the benefit of early initiation of breastfeeding, and expanding urban health extension program are important to improve the duration of exclusive breastfeeding in Ethiopia.
Highlights
The World Health Organization recommends that mothers should exclusively breastfeed their infants until 6 months of age due to the benefits for the mother and the child
Characteristics of the study participants A total of 465 mother-infant dyads participated in the study
Mothers who received counseling on infant feeding at Antenatal check-up (ANC) check-up were less likely to discontinue Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) before 6 months as compared to those who did not receive counseling [Adjusted hazard ratio (AHR): 0.62; 95% confidence interval (CI):0.43, 0.91]
Summary
The World Health Organization recommends that mothers should exclusively breastfeed their infants until 6 months of age due to the benefits for the mother and the child. Human milk is uniquely suited to the infant, both in its nutritional composition and in the non-nutritive bioactive factors, which include cells, anti-infectious, and anti-inflammatory. International organizations such as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend infants should be exclusively breastfed in the first 6 months, and thereafter be given nutritious complementary foods coupled with continued breastfeeding up to the age of 2 years or beyond [3]. EBF is adequate in quality as well as quantity in terms of the nutrients required by the baby [4]. Breastfeeding in general, EBF in particular, is among the best interventions in the first 1000 days [8, 9]
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