Abstract

PIP: The prevalence and length of breastfeeding (BF) in Nepal is presented and some socio-demographic factors influencing BF and determinants of BF are discussed. Data are based on the Nepal Fertility and Family Planning Survey 1986. 3774 currently married women aged 15-50 from rural areas and 1255 women from urban areas were interviewed. Data on duration and prevalence of BF was gathered for the last 2 live births. For those who did not breastfeed, reasons were sought. The duration of BF of the last closed interval was used as the dependent variable. The results may not be bias-free because a large majority reported duration of BF in multiples of 6 months. 81% of the urban women and 76% of the rural ones reported duration in multiples of 6 months. 2 demographic variables were chosen: the women's age and parity, along with 4 socioeconomic variables: 1) geographical region; 2) place of residence; 3) woman's education; and 4) work status. 51% of the urban women had 2.3 live births compared with only 42% of women in rural areas; 27% of all urban women have some education compared with only 5% of rural women. 56% of the urban women are from the "terai" compared with only 45% of the rural women. The length of BF (measured in mean months for the closed birth interval) vary only slightly between urban and rural areas. Less than 5% do not breastfeed. The prevalence of contraceptive use in the last closed interval is lower for the rural than urban women, about 2% vs. 9%. The average length of BF is slightly lower among women who use contraception during the last closed interval than among those who did not use it; the difference is slightly bigger among urban women compared with their rural counterparts. Younger women tend to have a slightly shorter length of BF than older ones. Women of higher parity. The length of BF varies little between categories of socioeconomic variables. The maximum difference in adjusted deviations between categories is only 2 months. Results of the multiple regression analysis are based on a simple additive model which does not include interaction terms; it shows that the % of variation in the length of BF explained by 5 factors (education, age, parity, place of residence, and geographical region) is around 6%.