Background: Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life is recommended internationally. This study aimed to investigate exclusive breastfeeding practices and associated factors among mothers of infants aged less than 6 months.
Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted on mother-infant pairs in Dubti town in May, 2015. In this study, exclusive breastfeeding was defined as an infant's breast milk consumption without supplementation of any type of food or drink, except for vitamins, minerals and necessary medications in the 24 h preceding the survey. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis were employed to identify the factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding practices. Variables with a p-value < 0.05 in the multivariable model were identified as predictors of exclusive breastfeeding practices.
Results: Exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months was practiced by 81.1 % (95 % Confidence Interval [CI] 77.0, 85.0 %) of mothers of infants aged less than 6 months. The median duration of exclusive breastfeeding for infants less than 6 months was 3 months. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that initiation of breastfeeding within 1 h after birth (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 5.46; 95 % CI 1.93, 15.41), age of infants of less than 2 months (AOR 7.03; 95 % CI 2.16, 22.88), being a housewife (AOR 4.81; 95 % CI 2.30, 10.06) and mothers who received postnatal counseling (AOR 3.88; 95 % CI 1.88, 7.99) were positive predictors of exclusive breastfeeding.
Conclusion: The study revealed that exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months using 24-h recall method was lower than the World Health Organization recommendation. Therefore, interventions could focus on educating mothers the importance of timely initiation of breastfeeding and postnatal care in the study area.
Keywords: Afar; Dubti; Exclusive breastfeeding; Northeast Ethiopia; Town.