Breastfeeding practice and associated factors among mothers of children aged 6-12 months southern Ethiopia, 2023: a community-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world is found in Ethiopia and improper infant feeding is a major  contributing factor. Therefore, this study aimed to assess breastfeeding practice and associated factors among mothers of children aged  6 to 12 months in southern Ethiopia.

Methods: a community-based cross-sectional study of 623 participants was used. A multistage  sampling technique was used and participant selection was done using proportional allocation. Data was entered into epi data version 3  and SPSS version 24 was used for cleaning and analysis. The effects of explanatory variables on the dependent variable were estimated  using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results were presented with adjusted odds ratios with a 95% confidence  interval.

Results: the prevalence of sub-optimal breastfeeding practice in this study is 60.2(95%CI 56.3-64). The mean (± SD) age of the  index child was (8.8 ± 1.85) months. The majority (70.9%) of newborns lived in rural areas and about half (53.9%) were female. Knowledge  [AOR: 0.23; 95%CI 0.15-0.35], attitude, [AOR: 2.43; 95%CI 1.14-5.21], Caesarean section delivery [AOR: 3.89; 95%CI 2.33-6.49], paternal education [AOR: 2.23; 95%CI 1.08-4.62] and breastfeeding counseling [AOR: 2.04; 95%CI 1.21- 3.39] had significantly associated with the outcome variable.

Conclusion: more than half of the study participants practiced sub-optimal breastfeeding. Paternal education,  knowledge, attitude, breastfeeding counseling and caesarean section (C/S) delivery. Integrating breastfeeding promotion education into  routine antenatal care follow-up and strong community-based behavior change communication is recommended.