Armah-Ansah Ebenezer Kwesi, Wilson Elvis Ato, Oteng Kenneth Fosu, Bawa Benedicta, Dawson Joseph Yaw
Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Population Dynamics Sexual and Reproductive Health Unit, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023 Aug 16;3(8):e0002278. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002278. eCollection 2023.
Early initiation of breastfeeding has been noted as one of the well-known and successful interventions that contributes to the reduction of early childhood mortality and morbidity. The Government of Benin has established multi-sectoral institutions and policies to increase the prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding. However, there is little information on the prevalence and the determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding in Benin. This study therefore sought to examine the prevalence and determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding among women in Benin. This is a secondary data analysis of the 2017/2018 Benin demographic and health survey. The study included weighted sample of 7,223 women between the ages of 15 and 49. STATA was used for the data analysis. We used a multilevel logistic regression to investigate the factors of early breastfeeding initiation in Benin. To determine the significant relationships, the data were reported as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and p-value 0.05. The prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding among mothers was 56.0%. Early initiation of breastfeeding was lower among employed women (aOR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.69-0.94), women who had caesarean section (aOR = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.16-0.28), those exposed to mass media (aOR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.75-0.96) and women who received assistance at birth from skilled worker (aOR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.46-0.71). The findings of this study showed that four in ten children miss early initiation of breastfeeding in Benin. The findings, therefore, call for the need for policymakers to shape existing programs and consider new programs and policies to help improve early initiation of breastfeeding practices in Benin. It is, therefore, recommended that information, education and communication programs targeting mothers who are less likely to practice early initiation of breastfeeding be formulated, implemented, and monitored accordingly by the Ministry of Health.
尽早开始母乳喂养已被视为有助于降低儿童早期死亡率和发病率的著名且成功的干预措施之一。贝宁政府已设立多部门机构并制定政策，以提高尽早开始母乳喂养的普及率。然而，关于贝宁尽早开始母乳喂养的普及率及其决定因素的信息却很少。因此，本研究旨在调查贝宁女性中尽早开始母乳喂养的普及率及其决定因素。这是对2017/2018年贝宁人口与健康调查的二次数据分析。该研究纳入了7223名年龄在15至49岁之间女性的加权样本。数据分析使用了STATA软件。我们采用多水平逻辑回归来研究贝宁尽早开始母乳喂养的因素。为确定显著关系，数据以比值比（OR）及95%置信区间（CI）和p值<0.05的形式呈现。母亲中尽早开始母乳喂养的普及率为56.0%。在职女性（调整后OR = 0.80，95% CI = 0.69 - 0.94）、剖宫产的女性（调整后OR = 0.21，95% CI = 0.16 - 0.28）、接触大众媒体的女性（调整后OR = 0.85，95% CI = 0.75 - 0.96）以及在分娩时接受熟练工人协助的女性（调整后OR = 0.57，95% CI = 0.46 - 0.71）中尽早开始母乳喂养的比例较低。本研究结果表明，在贝宁，十分之四的儿童未尽早开始母乳喂养。因此，这些结果呼吁政策制定者调整现有项目，并考虑制定新的项目和政策，以帮助改善贝宁尽早开始母乳喂养的情况。因此，建议卫生部相应地制定、实施和监测针对不太可能尽早开始母乳喂养的母亲的信息、教育和宣传项目。
