Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dire Dawa University, P.O. Box 1362, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Sep 19;24(1):2558. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-19945-1.
Ethiopia has had a long-standing national commitment to improving child health for the last five decades. However, evidence on trends of ever-breastfeeding and early initiation remained fragmented, and there existed a paucity of holistic evidence on the extent of the impacts of the policy and the associated factors. This study examined trends, disparities, and factors influencing ever-breastfed and early initiation in the last twenty years.
The Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHS 2000-2019) datasets were used and extracted for children aged 0-23 months and their mothers. Data analyses were performed using SPSS version 25. Trend and time-series analysis was used to visualize changes over time. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify associated factors.
Prevalence of ever-breastfeeding declined from 99.4% in 2000, to 84.01% in 2019; and early initiation showed inconsistency, increasing from 48.55% in 2000 to 69.57% in 2016 and remained unchanged (69.78%) in 2019. Maternal age, religion, and maternal healthcare utilization significantly influenced early initiation (p < 0.001). Both ever-breastfeeding and early initiation varied across regional states (< 0.001). Disparities in breastfeeding and early initiation were observed across socio-cultural settings and regional states (p < 0.05).
The prevalence of ever-breastfeeding declined nationwide between 2000 and 2019, which was not uniform and early initiation showed inconsistency across socio-cultural settings and regional states. These findings highlight the need to revisit current policies and interventions. Further research is crucial to inform the development of regionally tailored and culturally sensitive strategies that promote equitable and sustained breastfeeding improvement across Ethiopia.
埃塞俄比亚在过去五十年中一直致力于改善儿童健康。然而，关于母乳喂养和早期启动的趋势的证据仍然零散，缺乏关于政策影响和相关因素的整体证据。本研究检查了过去二十年中母乳喂养和早期启动的趋势、差异和影响因素。
使用埃塞俄比亚人口与健康调查（EDHS 2000-2019）数据集，并从中提取 0-23 个月儿童及其母亲的数据。使用 SPSS 版本 25 进行数据分析。趋势和时间序列分析用于可视化随时间的变化。多变量逻辑回归用于确定相关因素。
母乳喂养的比例从 2000 年的 99.4%下降到 2019 年的 84.01%；早期启动则不一致，从 2000 年的 48.55%增加到 2016 年的 69.57%，但在 2019 年保持不变（69.78%）。母亲年龄、宗教和母亲医疗保健利用率对早期启动有显著影响（p<0.001）。母乳喂养和早期启动在区域州之间存在差异（<0.001）。在社会文化背景和区域州之间观察到母乳喂养和早期启动的差异（p<0.05）。
2000 年至 2019 年，全国母乳喂养的比例下降，且不一致，早期启动在社会文化背景和区域州之间也不一致。这些发现强调需要重新审视当前的政策和干预措施。进一步的研究对于制定针对地区和文化敏感的战略以促进埃塞俄比亚各地公平和持续的母乳喂养改善至关重要。
