Less than one-fifth of the mothers practised exclusive breastfeeding in the emerging regions of Ethiopia: a multilevel analysis of the 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey

Abstract

Background The burden of low coverage of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) has a significant impact on the health of a newborn and also on the family and social economy in the long term. Even though the prevalence of EBF practices in Ethiopia is low, the practices in the pastoral communities, in particular, are significantly low and affected by individual and community-level factors. Besides, its adverse outcomes are mostly unrecognised. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the individual and community-level factors of low coverage of EBF practices in the emerging regions of Ethiopia. Methods In this analysis, data from 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) were used. A two-stage stratified sampling technique was used to identify 1406 children aged 0 to 23 months in the emerging regions of Ethiopia. A multilevel mixed-effect binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine the individual and community level factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding practices. In the final model, variables with a p-value of < 0.05 and Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were found to be statistically significant factors that affect exclusive breastfeeding practices. Results Overall, 17.6% (95% CI: 15.6–19.6) of the children aged 0 to 23 months have received exclusive breastfeeding. Employed mothers (AOR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.21–0.53), richer household wealth status (AOR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.16–0.96), mothers undecided to have more children (AOR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.21–4.29), a child with a history of diarrhoea (AOR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.16–0.61) were the individual-level factors, whereas Benishangul region (AOR: 2.63, 95% CI: 1.44–4.82) was the community-level factors associated with the exclusive breastfeeding practices. Conclusions Less than one-fifth of the mothers have practised exclusive breastfeeding in the emerging regions of Ethiopia. The individual-level factors such as mother’s employment status, household wealth status, desire for more children, presence of diarrhoea and community-level factors such as region have contributed to the low coverage of exclusive breastfeeding. Therefore, the federal and regional health bureaus and other implementers should emphasise to those emerging regions by creating awareness and strengthening the existing community-based health extension program to enhance exclusive breastfeeding practices.

The effect of unemployment and post-natal care on the exclusive breast-feeding practice of women in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Regarding the sample size of the included studies, it ranged from 119 [ 28 ] to 1769 [ 32 ] in which both these studies were from Amhara region. The prevalence of EBF practice among the individual studies also ranged from 17.28% [ 37 ] to 88.19% [ 38 ]. Regarding quality scores of the studies, the JBI checklist of critical appraisal of observational studies was used.…”

“…The association between employment statuses of women with EBF practice of women was assessed by computing the pooled odds ratio. A total of 24 articles were eligible to estimate the POR [ 8 , 9 , 20 – 22 , 24 , 28 – 30 , 33 – 35 , 37 , 38 , 48 – 51 , 53 – 55 , 57 – 59 ]. Thus, employment status of women was significantly associated with the EBF practice of women in Ethiopia.…”

The role of exclusive breastfeeding on sIgA and lactoferrin levels in toddlers suffering from Acute Respiratory Infection: A cross-sectional study

“…Scientifically other studies have also argued that the relationship between diarrhea and EBF is due to the protein lactoferrin, which is found in breast milk in all age groups. Thus in lymphocyte growth factors, lactoferrin can destroy disease-causing pathogens to reduce the inflammatory response and can increase the activity of the immune system [ 54 ].…”

Key correlates of exclusive breastfeeding at three timepoints: Evidence from Ethiopia

“…9 Maternal-level factors, such as the desire for more children and lower household socioeconomic status, were associated with a decreased likelihood of practicing EBF. 9 In another study that also relied on Ethiopian DHS data, maternal demographic variables such as education level, maternal age, region, religion, and socioeconomic status were associated with breastfeeding status. 10 While both studies used DHS data, many of their analyses were conducted using different variables.…”

“…A study conducted in Debre Markos, Ethiopia showed that mothers' breastfeeding knowledge and education during their antenatal/postnatal care visits and mothers' unemployment status were significantly and positively associated with EBF 1 . A study using 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data showed that less than 20% of women in Ethiopia practiced EBF in Afar, Gambella, Somali, and Beninshangul, the “Emerging regions” of the country, which are characterised as having relatively low socioeconomic status, among other factors 9 . Maternal‐level factors, such as the desire for more children and lower household socioeconomic status, were associated with a decreased likelihood of practicing EBF 9 .…”