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
. 2021 Apr 16;7(4):e06746.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06746. eCollection 2021 Apr.

Early breastfeeding and complementary feeding in Ethiopia: cross-sectional data from implementation of nutrition programming on regional inequalities

Kaitlin S Potts  1   2 , Megumi Asaba  1 , Afework Mulugeta  3 , Alessandra N Bazzano  1
Affiliations

Early breastfeeding and complementary feeding in Ethiopia: cross-sectional data from implementation of nutrition programming on regional inequalities

Kaitlin S Potts et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Improving nutrition for young children remains an urgent priority globally. Ethiopia has made great strides over the last two decades in improving health and nutrition for children. The task of scaling improved nutrition services now turns to addressing progress on the regional level. This research sought to highlight regional disparities identified in scaling nutrition services for child nutrition in Ethiopia, by identifying variations in early breastfeeding and child feeding practices and associated socio-demographic characteristics by geographic area in four regions of the country. The cross-sectional study data derived from an evaluation of nutrition services and programming and included 1299 participants, of whom 50% reported practicing recommended early breastfeeding practices. This varied from less than 8% in one zone of Afar region to 84% in a zone of Tigray, with differences also noted by socio-demographic characteristics. Among the total sample, 70% of respondents met the recommendation for minimum number of feedings per day, and 16% met the recommendation for dietary diversity. Less than 8% of families in the service population in Northwestern Tigray zone met the dietary diversity recommendation compared to 36% in South Wollo, Amhara region. Utilizing regional and zonal data will allow for government and other agencies involved in improving nutrition and health outcomes to appropriately provide services and programs for families and children over the life course.

Keywords: Breast feeding; Child feeding; Dietary diversity; Lactation; Malnutrition; Nutritional adequacy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of surveyed zones.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Black R.E., Allen L.H., Bhutta Z.A. Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and health consequences. Lancet. 2008;371(9608):243–260. - PubMed
    1. Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) ICF International . 2019. Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey 2019: Key Indicators.
    1. Central statistical agency [Ethiopia] ORC Macro . Central Statistical Agency and ORC Macro; 2006. Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2005.
    1. AUC. NEPAD. UNECA. WFP . 2012. The Cost of Hunger in Africa: Social and Economic Impact of Child Undernutrition in Egypt, Ethiopia, Swaziland and Uganda. Published online.
    1. Edmond K.M., Zandoh C., Quigley M.A., Amenga-Etego S., Owusu-Agyei S., Kirkwood B.R. Delayed breastfeeding initiation increases risk of neonatal mortality. Pediatrics. 2006;117(3):e380–e386. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources