Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2012 Nov 12:12:964.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-964.

Breastfeeding practices in urban and rural Vietnam

Huong Nguyen Thu  1 , Bo Eriksson, Toan Tran Khanh, Max Petzold, Göran Bondjers, Chuc Nguyen Thi Kim, Liem Nguyen Thanh, Henry Ascher
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Breastfeeding practices in urban and rural Vietnam

Huong Nguyen Thu et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to describe and compare breastfeeding practices in rural and urban areas of Vietnam and to study associations with possibly influencing person and household factors. This type of study has not been conducted in Vietnam before.

Methods: Totally 2,690 children, born from 1st March 2008 to 30th June 2010 in one rural and one urban Health and Demographic Surveillance Site, were followed from birth to the age of 12 months. Information about demography, economy and education for persons and households was obtained from household surveys. Standard statistical methods including survival and regression analyses were used.

Results: Initiation of breastfeeding during the first hour of life was more frequent in the urban area compared to the rural (boys 40% vs. 35%, girls 49% vs. 40%). High birth weight and living in households with large number of assets significantly increased the probability for early initiation of breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding at three months of age was more commonly reported in the rural than in the urban area (boys 58% vs. 46%, girls 65% vs. 53%). The duration of exclusive breastfeeding as well as of any breastfeeding was longer in the rural area than in the urban area (medians for boys 97 days vs. 81 days, for girls 102 days vs. 91 days). The percentages of children with exclusive breastfeeding lasting at least 6 months, as recommended by WHO, were low in both areas. The duration of exclusive breastfeeding was significantly shorter for mothers with three or more antenatal care visits or Caesarean section in both areas. High education level of mothers was associated with longer duration of exclusive breastfeeding in the rural area. No significant associations were found between duration of exclusive breastfeeding and mother's age, household economy indicators or household size.

Conclusion: Intervention programs with the aim to promote breastfeeding are needed. Mothers should particularly be informed about the importance of starting breastfeeding early and to prolong exclusive breastfeeding. In order to reach the WHO recommendation of six months exclusive breastfeeding, we propose an extended maternity leave legislation to at least six months.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated proportions of exclusive breastfeeding as a function of age for urban and rural infants. Children never reporting exclusive breastfeeding are not included.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Estimated proportions of any breastfeeding as a function of age for urban and rural infants. Children never reporting any breastfeeding are not included.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gartner L, Morton J, Lawrence R, Naylor A, O'Hare D, Schanler R. Policy statement, Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk, section on breastfeeding. Pediatrics. 2005;115(2) - PubMed
    1. Wiener R, Wiener M. Breastfeeding prevalence and distribution in the USA and Appalachia by rural and urban setting. Rural Remote Heal. 2011;11:1713. - PubMed
    1. Senarath U, Dibley MJ, Agho KE. Factors associated with nonexclusive breastfeeding in 5 east and southeast Asian countries: a multilevel analysis. J Hum Lact. 2010;26(3):248–257. doi: 10.1177/0890334409357562. - DOI - PubMed
    1. UNICEF. Breastfeeding within one hour of birth can significantly reduce infant mortality in Viet Nam. 2007. http://www.unicef.org/vietnam/media_7147.html.
    1. Liubai L, Doan T, Nguyen T, Hiroshi U. Prevalance of breastfeeding and its correlates in Hochiminh city. Pediatr Int. 2002;44:47–54. doi: 10.1046/j.1442-200X.2002.01496.x. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types