Trends and determinants for early initiation of and exclusive breastfeeding under six months in Vietnam: results from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, 2000–2011

Abstract

BackgroundThere is strong evidence that breastfeeding (BF) significantly benefits mothers and infants in various ways. Yet the proportion of breastfed babies in Vietnam is low and continues to decline. This study fills an important evidence gap in BF practices in Vietnam.ObjectiveThis paper examines the trend of early initiation of BF and exclusive BF from 2000 to 2011 in Vietnam and explores the determinants at individual and contextual levels.DesignData from three waves of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey were combined to estimate crude and adjusted trends over time for two outcomes – early initiation of BF and exclusive BF. Three-level logistic regressions were fitted to examine the impacts of both individual and contextual characteristics on early initiation of BF and exclusive BF in the 2011 data.ResultsBoth types of BF showed a decreasing trend over time after controlling for individual-level characteristics but this trend was more evident for early initiation of BF. Apart from child's age, individual-level characteristics were not significant predictors of the BF outcomes, but provincial characteristics had a strong association. When controlling for individual-level characteristics, mothers living in provinces with a higher percentage of mothers with more than three children were more likely to have initiated early BF (odds ratio [OR]: 1.06; confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.11) but less likely to exclusively breastfeed their babies (OR: 0.94; CI: 0.88–1.01). Mothers living in areas with a higher poverty rate were more likely to breastfeed exclusively (OR: 1.07; CI: 1.02–1.13), and those who delivered by Caesarean section were less likely to initiate early BF.ConclusionsOur results suggest that environmental factors are becoming more important for determining BF practices in Vietnam. Intervention programs should therefore not only consider individual factors, but should also consider the potential impact of contextual factors on BF practices.

Factors associated with delayed initiation of breastfeeding: a survey in Northern Uganda

“…This association has also been observed in other studies done in Uganda, Nigeria and Vietnam [12,26,35]. The practice of separating the newborn from the mother immediately after caesarean delivery could partly explain this delay [36].…”

Influence of Family and Social Attributes on Caregivers Feeding Practices in the Northern Region of Ghana

“…At times, family members were reported to place constraints on providing nutritious foods for children by bringing previously-established food regulations. These findings are in line with previous studies that show that familiar relationships play a central role regarding child feeding practices as families are important social environments within which food-related behaviours among infants and young children are developed (Bui et al 2016;Cashdan, 1994).…”

Gender inequality in early initiation of breastfeeding in Bangladesh: a trend analysis

“…[28,44,49,52,69]. The negative impact of caesarean delivery on early breastfeeding has also been observed in the several studies [8,28,29,34,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58].…”

“…Several studies conducted in developing countries have identified a number of socio-economic and demographic factors associated with EIBF such as place of residence [27], education of parents [8,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34], birth order [8,27,[35][36][37][38][39], place of delivery [8], mode of delivery [8,28,29,34,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58], size of baby [8], use of antenatal care [8,28,42,44,53,[59][60]…”