A Statistical Study on Initial Breastfeeding among Mothers in Patuakhali District, Bangladesh

Abstract

Provision of breast milk to the newborn infant within one hour of birth ensures that the infant receives the colostrums which is referred as early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF). The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with initial breastfeeding among mothers in Patuakhali district, Bangladesh. The data was collected from mothers in Patuakhali district who had at least one child aged 6-24 months from January to March, 2019. The prevalence of initial breastfeeding was 76.3%. Binary logistic model emonstrated that mothers who delivered by vaginal were more likely to provide initial breast milk (AOR=0.317) than mothers delivered by c-section. It was noted that mothers delivered at public hospital had more chance to give their initial breast milk (AOR=2.754) than mothers delivered at home. We found that secondary and higher educated husband’s wives were more interested to provide initial breast milk (AOR=2.421) than primary or uneducated husband’s wives (AOR=2.421).We also observed that secondary educated mothers were more likely to provide their initial breast milk (AOR=2.319) than primary or uneducated mothers. This study identified several socio economic factors that were associated with initial breastfeeding, and hope that this information will help the government and other policy makers to take proper initiative for promoting the awareness of initial breastfeeding in Bangladesh.