The prevalence and characteristics associated with mother-infant bed-sharing in Klang district, Malaysia.
This was a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence and characteristics of mother-infant bed-sharing practice in Klang district, Malaysia. Data was collected by face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire for a four month period in 2006. A total of 682 mother-infant pairs attending government health clinics were included in the study. Data regarding socio-demographic characteristics of the mothers, information on the infants, bed-sharing and breastfeeding practices were collected. The mean maternal age was 28.4 +/- 5.1 years while the mean infant gestational age was 38.8 +/- 1.8 weeks. The study showed the prevalence of bed-sharing was 73.5% (95% CI: 70.0, 76.7). In multivariate analysis; area of interview, maternal occupation, family income, breastfeeding and infant birth weight were associated with bed-sharing after adjusted for maternal ethnicity, age, marital status, educational level, parity, infant gender and infant gestational age. In conclusion, bed-sharing is a common practice in Klang district, Malaysia, not specific to ethnicity, but strongly associated with low family income and breastfeeding.
Tan
K L
KL
Department of Community Medicine, International Medical University, Bukit Jalil, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. kokleong_tan@imu.edu.my
Ghani
S N
SN
Moy
F M
FM
D000328:Adult; D001513:Beds; D001724:Birth Weight; D001942:Breast Feeding; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008296:Malaysia; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence