| Estimating the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding with data from household surveys: Measurement issues and options |
| Authors: |
Thomas W. Pullum, Karleen Gribble, Seema Mihrshahi and Bindi Borg |
| Source: |
Frontiers in Nutrition, 10 |
| Topic(s): |
Breastfeeding
Data use
|
| Country: |
Eastern Europe
Albania
Africa
Angola
Asia
Armenia
Bangladesh
Africa
Benin
Cameroon
Ethiopia
Gambia
Guinea
Latin American/Caribbean
Haiti
Asia
India
Jordan
Africa
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Asia
Maldives
Africa
Mali
Mauritania
Asia
Nepal
Africa
Nigeria
Asia
Pakistan
Oceania
Papua New Guinea
Africa
Rwanda
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Asia
Tajikistan
Africa
Tanzania
Asia
Timor-Leste
Africa
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
|
| Published: |
MAR 2023 |
| Abstract: |
The importance of breastfeeding for infant and maternal health is well established. The World Health Organization recommends that all infants be exclusively breastfed until they reach 6?months of age. The standard indicator to measure adherence to this criterion is the percentage of children aged 0–5?months who are currently being exclusively breastfed. This paper proposes supplementary measures that are easily calculated with existing survey data. First, for an accurate assessment of the WHO recommendation, we estimate the percentage of infants who are being exclusively breastfed at the exact age of 6?months. Second, an adjustment is proposed for prelacteal feeding. These two modifications, separately and in combination, are applied to data from 31 low-and middle-income countries that have participated in the Demographic and Health Surveys Program since 2015. There is considerable variation in the effects across countries. The modifications use existing data to provide a more accurate estimate than the standard indicator of the achievement of the exclusive breastfeeding until 6?months recommendation. |
| Web: |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1058134/full |