BACKGROUND Monitoring of breastfeeding is vital. However, infant feeding practices are difficult to assess at the population level. Although significant efforts have been made towards the consistent measurement and reporting of breastfeeding, few countries have successfully implemented a system to do so. Many inaccuracies, inconsistencies and issues remain. This paper highlights the main issues...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative on the breastfeeding practices of mothers from the urban area of Montes Claros, MG, Brazil. METHODS A comparative analysis was performed of two cross-sectional breastfeeding indicator studies with randomized samples of children under 2 years of age. One study was carried out before and the other after the Baby-Friendly ...

BACKGROUND Appropriate and timely breastfeeding practices markedly improve lifelong health outcomes for newborns, children, and mothers. Exclusive breastfeeding is reported to be widely practiced in Cambodia, and important progress has been made toward achieving improved child health outcomes, but newborn mortality has been slow to reduce and breastfeeding practices remain suboptimal. METHODS...

The 1994 rate of initiation of breastfeeding in eastern Nova Scotia was 41%. The purpose of this study is to assess both perceived barriers to breastfeeding as well as the need for programs to promote breastfeeding in this region. Seventy randomly selected subjects (67 F, 3 M) responded to a questionnaire about regional breastfeeding practices. Results showed that perceived barriers to breastfe...

BACKGROUND Breastfeeding in India is universal and prolonged. Several cultural practices are associated with lactation and breastfeeding in India, mainly revolving around the concept of ritual purity and 'hot and cold' foods, food avoidance, restricted diet after childbirth, and remaining in seclusion for a certain time period because of the polluting effects of childbirth. This study on breast...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the association between early feeding practices and consumption of ultraprocessed foods in children at age 6 y. METHODS This was a prospective cohort study using data from 3427 children who participated in the 2004 Pelotas Cohort Study and who had available food frequency questionnaire information at 6 y. Information about exclusive and total bre...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND Teen mothers face many challenges to successful breastfeeding and are less likely to breastfeed than any other population group in the U.S. Few studies have investigated this population; all prior studies are cross-sectional and collect breastfeeding data retrospectively. The purpose of our qualitative prospective study was to understand the factors that contribute to t...

A community-based, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted during June-July 2008 to assess the infant- and young child-feeding (IYCF) practices in Bankura district, West Bengal, India. In total, 647 children aged less than two years selected through revised 40-cluster sampling using the indicators of the Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) and World Health Or...