The infant feeding practices of mothers in the Maldives

Abstract

Objective: To document the infant feeding practices of Maldivian mothers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 251 Maldivian mothers recruited in 2004 from the 'well baby' or 'well child' clinics on the island of Male' and including 75 mothers from three other islands, Hura, Himmafushi and Thulusdhoo. Results: The full breast-feeding rate at hospital discharge was 93% but declined to 41% at 4 months. Any breast-feeding rates were high among Maldivian mothers: 100% at 1 month and 85% were still breast-feeding at 6 months. The median duration of breast-feeding was 24 months. Conclusion: Breast-feeding rates are high and the average duration of breast-feeding is more than 2 years in the Maldives. Health promotion activities should be directed towards maintaining the already high 'any breast-feeding' rates and increasing the proportion of infants exclusively breast-fed to 6 months.

Early initiation of breastfeeding: a systematic literature review of factors and barriers in South Asia

“…Delivery-related conditions have also been identified as a factor in the practice of early initiation of breastfeeding in South Asia. Seven qualitative studies conducted in Bangladesh [ 41 ], India [ 26 , 36 ], Nepal [ 28 ], Pakistan [ 27 ], Maldives [ 42 ] and Sri Lanka [ 35 ] highlighted delivery by caesarean section as a major factor. Similarly, two other studies specified that time for recovery from caesarean delivery [ 37 ] and delay in uniting the newborn and mother after caesarean section [ 41 ] as reasons for delayed initiation.…”

Protective effects of breastfeeding against acute respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea: Findings of a cohort study

“…All the questionnaires were translated into Dhivehi, the national language in the Maldives and back translated to assess face validity. The demographic and breastfeeding questionnaire have been translated and used in previous studies in the Maldives …”

Factors associated with Early Initiation of Breastfeeding in Western Nepal

“…We adapted the Nepali version of the questionnaire that was used in the Kaski district of Nepal [ 15 ] and which was based on questionnaires previously used in similarly designed studies of Australian women [ 19 , 20 ]. These questionnaires have been translated subsequently into a variety of languages for use in studies of women in Vietnam [ 21 ], China, [ 22 , 23 ], the Maldives [ 24 ], as well as Nepal [ 15 ]. Although the questionnaire used in the Kaski district [ 15 ] was in Nepali language which is the language spoken in our study setting, the questionnaires were pre-tested in interviews with 30 women.…”