Prevalence and Determinants of Timely Initiation of Breastfeeding Among Mothers in Sodo Zuriya District, South Ethiopia: A Cross-sectional Study

摘要

Timely initiation of breastfeeding tops the list of life-saving interventions for newborn health. Even though most mothers in Ethiopia breastfeed their babies, they do not always follow the recommendations of the "National Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding". A community-based cross-sectional study with internal comparisons was conducted between July and August 2019. A total of 444 mother-infant pairs were selected using simple random sampling. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression were employed to identify predictors of timely initiation of breastfeeding. The prevalence of timely initiation of breastfeeding was 53.4%. Institutional delivery (AOR=3.0; 95% CI 1.47, 6.13), advice/counseling during antenatal visits (AOR=3.52; 95% CI 1.81, 6.83) and postnatal counseling/advice (AOR=2.96; 95% CI 1.59, 5.5) were found to be positively associated with timely initiation of breastfeeding (p0.05). Conclusions and Recommendations: The prevalence of timely initiation of breastfeeding was low. Several characteristics affect timely initiation of breastfeeding. Educational programs in health institutions and at the community level are recommended to correct traditional inappropriate breastfeeding practices and beliefs and to provide training to health professionals to promote appropriate and timely counseling during the antenatal and postnatal periods.