title: Factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life in Brazil: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life in Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Systematic review of epidemiological studies conducted in Brazil with exclusive breastfeeding as outcome. Medline and LILACS databases were used. After the selection of articles, a hierarchical theoretical model was proposed according to the proximity of the variable to the outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 67 articles identified, we selected 20 cross-sectional studies and seven cohort studies, conducted between 1998 and 2010, comprising 77,866 children. We identified 36 factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding, being more often associated the distal factors: place of residence, maternal age and education, and the proximal factors: maternal labor, age of the child, use of a pacifier, and financing of primary health care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The theoretical model developed may contribute to future research, and factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding may subsidize public policies on health and nutrition.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Informação em Saúde, Instituto de Comunicação e Informação Científica e Tecnológica em Saúde, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Cristiano Siqueira
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Boccolini
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Epidemiologia e Métodos Quantitativos em Saúde, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Márcia Lazaro de
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Epidemiologia e Bioestatística, Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maria Inês Couto de
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors