Prevalence of Exclusive Breastfeeding Practices and Its Associated Factors in Maharashtra: A Spatial and Multivariate Analysis

Abstract

India is committed to achieving its National and Millennium Development Goal 4 of reduction in infant mortality. Government of India has been implemented initiative to promote breastfeeding through the national health program. WHO has recommended that every child should be exclusively breastfed (EBF) for the first six month of life, with partial breastfeeding continued until two years of age. The present study is to assess the prevalence of EBF and associated factors among mothers having children age 0-6 months in Maharashtra. Data were extracted from for Maharashtra from District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-4), conducted during 2012-13. A sample of married women, aged 15-49 years, having children age 0-6 months were considered as unit of analysis. Median duration of EBF, full breastfeeding and any breastfeeding were computed using current status data on breastfeeding for the selected background characteristics and EBF prevalence was calculated using 24 hour recall method. The result shows that prevalence of EBF in the last 24 hours preceding the survey was low. The study showed that women residing in the rural setting had longer median duration of EBF and Illiterate women had longer median duration (2.89) than the women having higher education, also showed women who are in poorest quintile had longer median duration of EBF.