BACKGROUND Monitoring of breastfeeding is vital. However, infant feeding practices are difficult to assess at the population level. Although significant efforts have been made towards the consistent measurement and reporting of breastfeeding, few countries have successfully implemented a system to do so. Many inaccuracies, inconsistencies and issues remain. This paper highlights the main issues...

Background Despite the ongoing recommendations for breastfeeding, we continue to see a decrease in exclusive breastfeeding among Jordanian women during infant follow up visits at the pediatric outpatient clinic. The purpose of our study is to determine the prevalence, predictors and barriers to exclusive breastfeeding in north of Jordan. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey involving...

BACKGROUND Maternal work has been identified as one of the factors that affect exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life. In Ghana, mothers engaged in the formal sector of employment are unable to exclusively breastfeed after maternity leave because facilities at their work places and conditions of work do not support exclusive breastfeeding. Even though maternal work and exclusiv...

BACKGROUND Exclusive breastfeeding is giving only breast milk to an infant from birth up to six months of age, with the exception of medications and vitamins. For the first six months of life, breast milk alone is the ideal nourishment to meet the nutritional demand of the growing child. Although breastfeeding is a universal practice, in Ethiopia only 52% of children aged less than six months o...

OBJECTIVE To determine the duration of breastfeeding and to identify factors associated with exclusive / predominant breastfeeding in children under two years old. METHODS This is a cross-sectional study conducted from March to June 2005 in the municipalities of Gameleira and São João do Tigre, located in the interior of Pernambuco and Paraiba States. The sample comprised 504 children under t...

Exclusive breastfeeding is the feeding of a baby on no other milk apart from breast milk. Exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life is very important as it supports optimal growth and development during infancy and reduces the risk of obliterating diseases and problems. Moreover, it helps to reduce the incidence and/or severity of diarrhea, lower respiratory infection and urinar...

This review aims to describe changes in breastfeeding and summarise the breastfeeding rates, duration and reasons of discontinuing 'any breastfeeding' or 'exclusive breastfeeding' in P.R. China. Breastfeeding rates in China fell during the 1970s when the use of breast milk substitutes became widespread, and reached the lowest point in the 1980s. As a result many efforts were introduced to promo...

OBJECTIVE To study the factors involved in the maintenance of exclusive breastfeeding in healthy infants during the first 4 months of life, with emphasis on the role of pediatricians. MATERIAL AND METHODS A longitudinal study was carried out with 101 healthy term babies at a pediatrics outpatient clinic in Uberaba, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The babies were divided at random into three gr...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the independent predictors of exclusive breastfeeding in early infancy. DESIGN Cross sectional multivariate comparison of different breastfeeding categories. SETTING Urban teaching hospital Outpatient Department. SUBJECTS Mothers of 501 children between the age group of 0-6 months were questioned in detail on a standardized pretested proforma about various sociodemo...

Introduction: Breastfeeding is the ideal source of nutrition for infants. However, there is controversy regarding the effect of breastfeeding on mothers’ sexual function. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the relationship between postpartum sexual function and infant feeding method in women referring to Mashhad healthcare centers. Methods: This descriptive, analytical study was performed o...