title: Infant and young child feeding practices differ by ethnicity of Vietnamese mothers.
abstract: Limited studies have examined ethnic variation in breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices in developing countries. This study investigated ethnic variation in feeding practices in mothers with children 0-23 months old in Vietnam.
  
  
  
  We used data on 1875 women who came from the ethnic majority, Kinh (n = 989, randomly sampled from 9875 surveyed Kinh mothers, 10 % from each province) and three ethnic minorities: E De-Mnong (n = 309), Thai-Muong (n = 229) and Tay-Nung (n = 348). Ethnic minorities were compared with the Kinh group using logistic regression model.
  
  
  
  Prevalence of breastfeeding initiation within an hour of birth was 69 % in Thai-Muong, but ~50 % in other ethnicities. In logistic regression, the prevalence of breastfeeding within one hour was lower in Tay-Nung (OR: 0.54; 95 % CI: 0.38, 0.77) than the majority Kinh. Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months was 18, 10, 17, and 33 % in Kinh, Thai-Muong, Tay-Nung, and E De-Mnong, respectively; compared to the majority Kinh, the prevalence was lower in Thai-Muong (OR: 0.42; 95 % CI: 0.25, 0.71) and higher in E De-Mnong (OR: 1.99; 95 % CI: 1.04, 3.82). Overall prevalence of bottle feeding in Thai-Muong and E De-Mnong (~20 %) was lower than in Kinh (~33 %): Thai-Muong (OR: 0.50; 95 % CI: 0.37, 0.68) and E De-Mnong (OR: 0.69; 95 % CI: 0.50, 0.95). Compared with Kinh (75 %), fewer ethnic minority children received minimum acceptable diets (33 % in Thai-Muong, 46 % in E De-Mnong, and 52 % in Tay-Nung; P < 0.05). Prevalence of minimum acceptable diet (met both dietary frequency and diversity) was lower in Thai-Muong (OR: 0.23; 95 % CI: 0.11, 0.46), Tay-Nung (OR: 0.52; 95 % CI: 0.39, 0.69), and E De-Mnong (OR: 0.55; 95 % CI: 0.33, 0.89) than the majority Kinh.
  
  
  
  Breastfeeding practices were suboptimal and differed by ethnicity, which suggests need for tailored interventions at multiple levels to address ethnic-specific challenges and norms. Complementary feeding practices were less optimal among ethnic minorities compared to Kinh, which suggests need for broad intervention including improved food availability, accessibility, and security.
authors: Technical Specialist in Measurement, Learning & Evaluation, Vietnam, Alive & Thrive, Alive & Thrive Project, FHI 360, 7th floor, Ha Noi Tourist Building, 18 Ly Thuong Kiet street, Ha Noi, Vietnam. tuan_72@yahoo.com.
authors: Tuan T
authors: TT
authors: Nguyen
authors: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, DC, USA.
authors: Phuong H
authors: PH
authors: Nguyen
authors: Technical Specialist in Measurement, Learning & Evaluation, Vietnam, Alive & Thrive, Alive & Thrive Project, FHI 360, 7th floor, Ha Noi Tourist Building, 18 Ly Thuong Kiet street, Ha Noi, Vietnam.|Present Address: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors: Nemat
authors: N
authors: Hajeebhoy
authors: Save the Children, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors: Huan V
authors: HV
authors: Nguyen
authors: Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors: Edward A
authors: EA
authors: Frongillo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000208:ethnology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014744:Vietnam; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Breastfeeding; Complementary feeding; Ethnicity; Infant and young child; Vietnam