Towards a better understanding of exclusive breastfeeding in the era of HIV/AIDS: a study of prevalence and factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding from birth, in Rakai,Uganda.
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is being promoted by WHO/UNICEF as the recommended mode of feeding for all infants from birth to around 6 months of age. It is also recommended for the initial few months, for infants born to HIV-positive mothers in the developing world where conditions may not be ideal for replacement feeding. A cross-sectional study was done to find the prevalence and factors associated with EBF from delivery, amongst mothers of infants 0-6 months of age in a rural Ugandan community with a high HIV/AIDS burden. A prevalence of EBF of 35.1 per cent was found. There was a very high use of prelacteal feeds. Factors positively associated with EBF from birth, after logistic regression, were: delivery from a health unit (OR 2.07; 95 per cent confidence interval, 1.2-3.6); and mother having a normal vaginal delivery (OR 10.54; 95 per cent CI, 3.0-36.6). Factors showing negative association were: male gender of child (OR 0.44; 95 per cent CI, 0.3-0.7); and age of child over 3 months (OR 0.48; 95 per cent CI, 0.3-0.7). Mothers knowledge of her HIV serostatus was not associated with EBF (p = 0.78). Breastfeeding is almost universal in this area but it is rarely exclusive from birth.
Ssenyonga
Richard
R
Rakai District Administration, Uganda. richard-sk@excite.com
Muwonge
Richard
R
Nankya
Immaculate
I
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011336:Probability; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013997:Time Factors; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology; D014944:World Health Organization