Assessment of early initiation of breastfeeding and determinants among mothers of children under 24 months in Southeast Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Early-initiation of breastfeeding is putting the newborns to the breast within the first hour of life. It is the first critical time they contact their mother outside of the womb. The current study aimed to assess the early initiation of breastfeeding in the study setting. Objectives: To assess the level of early initiation of breastfeeding and its associated factors among mothers who had a baby of less than the age of 24 months in Jeju Woreda, Arsi Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2019. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study conducted involving 487 mothers from September 18 to October 09, 2019. A multistage sampling technique was employed. First, the setting stratification done in urban and rural settings. Second, ten kebeles selected from both strata. The study participants identified by systematic random sampling technique using kebele log-books registration list as a scheme. The collected data were entered into Epi Info version 7.1.5.0 and exported to SPSS version 21.0.0.0 to analyze. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression used to determine relations between independent factors and early initiation of breastfeeding. Nine variables became eligible for multivariate analysis at a p - value less than 0.05 in bivariate. The final analyses done the significance of association decided using AOR with its 95% CI, and p - value at less than 0.05. Results: A 97% response rate achieved in this study. The prevalence of early breastfeeding initiation was 74.5%. In multivariate analysis variables namely, mothers whose age category was 35 years and above (AOR = 2.34, 95% CI: (1.07, 5.11)), Pre-lacteal feeding (AOR = 0.37 95% CI (0.17, 0.79)), postpartum advice (AOR = 1.72, 95% CI (1.01, 2.95)) had a significant association. Conclusion and recommendations: The prevalence of early breastfeeding initiation was (74.5%). The finding was low compared to the world health organization recommendation. A working towards discouraging pre-lacteal feeding and strengthening postnatal advice and focusing on ways to better reach young mothers were the recommendations to bring the prevalence in the study area to the recommended level.