Factors related to the practice of early breastfeeding in Mali

Abstract

Introduction
Early initiation of breastfeeding improves newborn survival. The objective of this study was to determine the factors associated with the practice of early initiation of breastfeeding in Mali.
material and Methods
We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a prospective longitudinal study, conducted in Bamako (urban) and Dialakoroba (rural) from April to November 2016. A total of 228 mothers were enrolled (114 in each setting) on a voluntary basis within one hour of delivery in health centres. We carried out a descriptive, bi-varied and multivariate analysis of the data on Epi info 7 with the practice of early breastfeeding as a dependent variable. We considered the significant difference if p 0.05.
Results
Of the mothers surveyed 54.8% practiced early initiation of breastfeeding; 95.6% were married and 51,75% had no level of education. The average age of mothers was 24.7 ±6.4 years with ranges between 15-48 years. Male children predominated (55.3%).
Bivariate analysis showed that early breastfeeding was associated with the setting of residence (P=0.00002), the mode of delivery (p<0.0000001), newborn health status (0.005) and the mothers' occupation (p=0.001). While the multivariate analysis considered only mode of delivery (OR=0.05 95% CI: 0.01-0.24) and newborn health status just after birth (OR=5.64 95% CI: 1.37-23.07) as factors associated with early breastfeeding.
Conclusion
Taking into account the factors identified in this study in health promotion activities will contribute to the improvement of this practice.