Higher educational and economic status are key factors for the timely initiation of breastfeeding in Ethiopia: A review and meta-analysis

Breastfeeding-Related Practices in Rural Ethiopia: Colostrum Avoidance

The practices of colostrum avoidance and prelacteal feeding, which are common in many developing countries, including Ethiopia, are firmly rooted in ancient traditions. The main objective of this work is to identify the prevalence of colostrum avoidance and study its associated factors among mothers of children aged less than 2 years old in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study on the practice of colostrum avoidance/prelacteal feeding was conducted in a rural community with 114 mothers of children under 2 years old. Our results reflected that colostrum avoidance and prelacteal feeding were practiced by 56.1% of mothers. The percentage of women who started breastfeeding in the first hour after birth, as recommended by the WHO, was 2.6%. Of the women who practiced colostrum avoidance, 67.2% gave birth at home, and 65.6% were attended by relatives. The likelihood of avoiding colostrum increases in mothers who have a lower educational level, who did not receive health care at the time of delivery, who think that colostrum is dirty and dangerous and who did not receive information about breastfeeding from healthcare professionals. The knowledge emanating from this work may be useful in designing new breastfeeding education programs and/or interventions in Ethiopia and other developing countries.

Timely Initiation of Breastfeeding and Its Associated Factors at the Public Health Facilities of Dire Dawa City, Eastern Ethiopia, 2021

Introduction

Timely initiation of breastfeeding is defined as putting the newborn baby to the breast within one hour of birth. Despite the World Health Organization and national recommendations on timely initiation of breastfeeding, delayed initiation of breastfeeding is still a common problem.

Objective

The aim of this study was to assess the timely initiation of breastfeeding and its associated factors at the public health facilities of Dire Dawa city, Eastern Ethiopia, 2021.

Methods

A health facility-based cross-sectional study was employed from February 1, 2021, to March 2, 2021, at the public health facilities of Dire Dawa city among 302 mother-child pairs. The data were collected by systematic random sampling technique, entered into Epi data 4.2, and analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Science 25.0 version. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed to estimate the crude and adjusted odds ratio with a confidence interval of 95%, and a P value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Frequency tables, figures, and descriptive summaries were used to describe the study variables.

Results

In this study, timely initiation of breastfeeding was 70.9% (95% CI: 65.6-75.8%). In a multivariable analysis, maternal age group of 25-40 years (AOR = 2.21, 95% CI = 1.09 − 4.48), multiparty (AOR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.24 − 5.40), counselling on timely initiation of breastfeeding during antenatal care visits (AOR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.16 − 4.88), institutional delivery (AOR = 3.29, 95% CI = 1.27 − 8.52), vaginal delivery (AOR = 3.06, 95% CI = 1.20 − 7.81), counselling on breastfeeding immediately after delivery (AOR = 2.89, 95% CI = 1.29 − 6.45), not practicing pre lacteal feeding (AOR = 6.76, 95% CI = 2.35 − 19.44), and having good practice of colostrum feeding (AOR = 4.03, 95% CI = 1.95 − 8.36) were associated with timely initiation of breastfeeding. Conclusion and Recommendation. Mothers who had practiced timely initiation of breastfeeding were low compared to the national recommendation (92%). Age of the mother, multiparity, counseling on timely initiation of breastfeeding, institutional delivery, vaginal delivery, counseling after delivery, not practicing prelacteal feeding, and having a good practice of colostrum feeding were predictors of timely initiation of breastfeeding. It indicates a need to encourage mothers to have antenatal care visits and institutional delivery.