Levels of Exclusive Breastfeeding and Correlates At 10 weeks Post- Delivery in A Rural Setting

Abstract

Background
Sustaining a high rate of adherence to exclusive breastfeeding may be challenging in resource constrained setting. This study established the levels of exclusive breastfeeding, alternate feeding patterns, health and growth impacts, among 10 weeks old infants in a remote, understudied village in East Africa.
Subject and methods
This was a secondary cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort data. Data of 457 out of the 529 mother- newborn pairs recruited from birth were obtained and analysed at 10 weeks post- delivery in the postnatal clinic. Infant feeding patterns were recorded and anthropometry were measured and assessed using NICE criteria for static weight growth. Mothers were interviewed using the Edinburgh postpartum depression score to assess emotional status. Both parametric and non-parametric statistics and binary logistic regression model were applied to examine the relationship between maternal/infant characteristics, feeding patterns and infant weight growth. The results were presented in p-values, Odds ratio and 95% confidence interval.