Appropriate breastfeeding behavior has been identified as one of the efficient and inexpensive ways to promote child survival in developing countries. The WHO and the UNICEF recommend exclusive breastfeeding up to age 6 months and supplemented (nonexclusive) breastfeeding up to the second birthday and beyond. This paper examines the applicability of these guidelines for poor developing countries in South Asia.
Data from the recent Demographic and Health Surveys in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal are analyzed to study the breastfeeding practices (relating to exclusive and nonexclusive breastfeeding) and the effects of breastfeeding behavior on infant mortality. The effects of breastfeeding behavior on infant mortality are estimated using multivariate logistic regression methods. Because breastfeeding practices, mortality, and the effects of breastfeeding on mortality are likely to change with child's age during infancy, the effects are estimated on a monthly basis. The estimated effects take into account parental characteristics, household living standard, and maternal fertility and health seeking behavior during pregnancy and childbirth, because these characteristics tend to be correlated with both breastfeeding practices and infant mortality. In the case of India, the adjusted effects of breastfeeding behavior are also calculated after controlling for mother's nutritional status, as measured by weight-for-height and anemia level.
Preliminary results indicate that supplemented or nonexclusive breastfeeding is more beneficial than exclusive breastfeeding in promoting child survival even for infants under 6 months of age, suggesting that the WHO and UNICEF recommendations on exclusive breastfeeding may not be appropriate for poor regions of developing countries.
Learning Objectives: Recognize that the WHO and UNICEF guidelines about exclusive breastfeeding upto six months of age are not appropriate for poor areas of developing countries
Keywords: Breastfeeding, Infant Mortality
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.