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
. 2017 Feb 13;12(2):e0171792.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171792. eCollection 2017.

Infant feeding practices and diarrhoea in sub-Saharan African countries with high diarrhoea mortality

Felix A Ogbo  1   2 , Kingsley Agho  3 , Pascal Ogeleka  4 , Sue Woolfenden  2   5   6 , Andrew Page  1   2 , John Eastwood  2   6   7   8   9 ; Global Child Health Research Interest Group
Affiliations

Infant feeding practices and diarrhoea in sub-Saharan African countries with high diarrhoea mortality

Felix A Ogbo et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: The impacts of optimal infant feeding practices on diarrhoea have been documented in some developing countries, but not in countries with high diarrhoea mortality as reported by the World Health Organisation/United Nations Children's Fund. We aimed to investigate the association between infant feeding practices and diarrhoea in sub-Saharan African countries with high diarrhoea mortality.

Method: The study used the most recent Demographic and Health Survey datasets collected in nine sub-Saharan African countries with high diarrhoea mortality, namely: Burkina Faso (2010, N = 9,733); Demographic Republic of Congo (2013; N = 10,458); Ethiopia (2013, N = 7,251); Kenya (2014, N = 14,034); Mali (2013, N = 6,365); Niger (2013, N = 7,235); Nigeria (2013, N = 18,539); Tanzania (2010, N = 5,013); and Uganda (2010, N = 4,472). Multilevel logistic regression models that adjusted for cluster and sampling weights were used to investigate the association between infant feeding practices and diarrhoea in these nine African countries.

Results: Diarrhoea prevalence was lower among children whose mothers practiced early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive and predominant breastfeeding. Early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding were significantly associated with lower risk of diarrhoea (OR = 0.81; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.77-0.85, P<0.001 and OR = 0.50; 95%CI: 0.43-0.57, respectively). In contrast, introduction of complementary foods (OR = 1.31; 95%CI: 1.14-1.50) and continued breastfeeding at one year (OR = 1.27; 95%CI: 1.05-1.55) were significantly associated with a higher risk of diarrhoea.

Conclusion: Early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding are protective of diarrhoea in sub-Saharan African countries with high diarrhoea mortality. To reduce diarrhoea mortality and also achieve the health-related sustainable development goals in sub-Saharan African, an integrated, multi-agency strategic partnership within each country is needed to improve optimal infant feeding practices.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

References

    1. The World Bank; Disease and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa Jamison DT, Richard GF, Malegapuru WM, Eduard RB, Florence KB, Karen JH, et al., editors. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank Publications; 2006.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diarrhea: Common Illness, Global Killer Online: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016 [cited 2016 September 7]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/diarrhea-burden.html.
    1. UNICEF, WHO. Pneumonia and diarrhoea: Tackling the deadliest diseases for the world’s poorest children New York, USA: UNICEF, 2012. - PubMed
    1. UNICEF/WHO. Diarrhoea: why children are still dying and what can be done New York, USA: UNICEF/WHO, 2010. - PubMed
    1. Ahs JW, Tao W., Löfgren J, Forsberg Birger C. Diarrheal diseases in low-and middle-income countries: incidence, prevention and management. Open Infectious Diseases Journal. 2010;4(1):113–24.

MeSH terms