Constrained resources in Central and Eastern Europe limit the capacity of local and national health ministries to study breastfeeding practices or implement evidence-based breastfeeding support programs. This paper describes an innovative model for studying an important maternal and child health (MCH) problem by training undergraduate students to strengthen local capacity for research. An inter...

BACKGROUND Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices during the first two years of life are important for the growth and development of a child. The aim of this study was to assess IYCF practices and its associated factors in two rural districts of Pakistan. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in two rural districts of Sindh province, Pakistan as part of a stunting prevention ...

Background. Because of rapid population growth, many countries now have very large cohorts of young people. Despite the population health importance of early child feeding practices, little work has explored the knowledge and expectations about infant feeding that youth bring with them as they transition into parenthood. Objective. To examine adolescent girls’ perceptions of infant and young ch...

BACKGROUND Studies have shown that sub-optimal breastfeeding is major contributor to infant and young child mortality in Ethiopia. To address this problem, infant and young child feeding guideline was developed in 2004 and interventions have been going on based on the guidelines. There is no study that assessed whether the infant and child feeding practices are according the guideline or not. T...

BACKGROUND Breastfeeding is vital for child survival, health, and development. Mexico has very low rates of breastfeeding and experienced a severe decrease in the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding from 21% in 2006 to 14% in 2012. OBJECTIVE The objective of the article was to estimate the pediatric costs of inadequate breastfeeding in Mexico associated with the following acute health condi...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND Early skin-to-skin contact (SSC) after birth is recommended as part of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) baby friendly health initiative to promote optimum breastfeeding. This paper reports rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration in a low resource environment, where early SSC is not practised, and explores views of pregnant women and midwives surroundin...

Public health efforts to protect, promote and support breastfeeding are based on the central argument that breastfeeding is the healthiest way of feeding and nurturing infants. Although supported by abundant scientific research, this core message has offered an insufficient framework for successful breastfeeding advocacy, practice and policy. If we are to increase breastfeeding rates around the...