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Prevalence and Determinants of Early Initiation of Breastfeeding Among Mothers in Dhaka City, Bangladesh: a Cross-sectional Study

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Abstract

Early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) is crucial for mothers as well as children’s health, and also has the potential to prevent neonatal mortality. Thus, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with EIBF among mothers in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to July 2019, based on a sample of 422 mothers of children aged under 6 months. Data were collected by in-person interviews from a hospital’s outdoor through a structured questionnaire consisted of demographic, reproductive, and healthcare utilization information. Association between variables was assessed by multiple logistic regression. The prevalence of EIBF among mothers was 48.3% [95% CI: 43.4–53.3]. Multiple logistic regression showed that being a housewife, having family income of > 10,000 BDT (Bangladeshi currency) per month, mothers education level, being multiparous, normal delivery, ANC (antenatal care) visits for ≥ 3 times, counseling prior to conception, and skin-to-skin contact after delivery significantly increased the likelihood of EIBF among mothers. Besides, mothers who gave birth to low-weight babies and provided pre-lacteal feeds to them were negatively associated with EIBF. EIBF has improved in Bangladesh during MDG era, but progress still remains slower. Key modifiable factors such as maternal education, normal delivery, ANC visits, skin-to-skin contact, and pre-lacteal feeding need to be improved to enhance the EIBF for reducing child malnutrition and mortality.

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Data Availability

The datasets of the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the study participants who humbly responded to all the questions and gave their valuable time. The authors are also grateful to the hospitals’ authority for assisting the survey process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sanitation, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, Bangladesh

    Mehedi Hasan & Md. Nazmul Hassan

  2. Department of Food Microbiology, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, Bangladesh

    Md Shafiqul Islam Khan & Md. Hasan Al Banna

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  1. Mehedi Hasan
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  2. Md. Nazmul Hassan
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  3. Md Shafiqul Islam Khan
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  4. Md. Hasan Al Banna
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Contributions

Mehedi Hasan: Conceptualization and study design, data collection, and writing - draft preparation; Md. Nazmul Hassan: supervision, reviewing, and editing; Md Shafiqul Islam Khan: reviewing of the draft manuscript for potential intellectual content; Md. Hasan Al Banna: data analysis and writing-original draft preparation. All authors approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Md. Hasan Al Banna.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics Approval

Ethical consideration was taken from the Research Ethical Committee (REC) of the Department of Environmental Sanitation, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Bangladesh (approval no. ENS: 20/12/2018:05). Besides, permission was obtained from the Executive Director of the hospital.

Consent to Participate

All procedures performed in studies followed the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The purpose of the study was explained in detail to the participants, and written consent was obtained from the subjects before participation in the study. The investigators specified that participation in the study was voluntary.

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Hasan, M., Hassan, M., Khan, M.I. et al. Prevalence and Determinants of Early Initiation of Breastfeeding Among Mothers in Dhaka City, Bangladesh: a Cross-sectional Study. SN Compr. Clin. Med. 2, 2792–2798 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-020-00660-y

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