Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38124065›Full record

ArticleInternational breastfeeding journal2023

Exclusive breastfeeding practices and its determinants in Indian infants: findings from the National Family Health Surveys-4 and 5.

Samarasimha Reddy N, Aravind Dharmaraj, Jovis Jacob, Kulandaipalayam Natarajan Sindhu

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Article in International breastfeeding journal, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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  8. Cumulative Incidence of Dysentery Among Under-Five Children in Underprivileged Urban Areas of Bhopal: A One-Year Cohort Study.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Samarasimha Reddy N *Division of Clinical Epidemiology, ICMR - National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500007, India.
Aravind Dharmaraj *The Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory, Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632004, India.
Jovis JacobDivision of Clinical Epidemiology, ICMR - National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500007, India.
Kulandaipalayam Natarajan SindhuThe Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory, Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632004, India. sindhubalakumar@gmail.com.

Funding

Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation BT/kiData0393/06/18
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in infants for the first 6 months of life. This analysis aims to estimate the proportion of Indian infants exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months using the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS)-4 and 5, and further, determine factors associated with EBF practices.

methodsEBF for this analysis was defined as when infants received only breast milk and no complementary feeds (solid food, water, animal milk, baby formula, juice, and fortified food) in the last 24 h prior to the survey. The proportion of infants exclusively breastfed was plotted from birth to 6 months as per the age of children at the time of the survey, and this was computed for individual states, union territories, and overall, for India. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to examine factors influencing EBF in Indian infants.

resultsThe proportion of Indian infants exclusively breastfed for 6 months was 31.3% (1280/4095; 95% CI 29.9, 32.7) and 43% (1657/3853; 95% CI 41.4, 44.6) as per the NFHS-4 and 5 surveys, respectively. In NFHS-5, infants of scheduled tribes (aOR 1.5; 95% CI 1.2, 1.9) and mothers who delivered at public health facilities (aOR 1.3; 95% CI 1.1, 1.5) showed an increased odds of being exclusively breastfed at 6 months of life compared to their counterparts. Further, infants of mothers aged < 20 years (aOR 0.5; 95% CI 0.4, 0.7), low birth weight infants (aOR 0.6; 95% CI 0.4, 0.8), and infants in whom breastfeeding was initiated one hour after birth (aOR 0.8; 95% CI 0.7, 0.9) showed a reduced odds of being exclusively breastfed at 6 months compared to their counterparts.

conclusionsThe overall EBF practice showed an increasing trend in the NFHS-5 compared to the NFHS-4 survey. However, a vast gap remains unaddressed in the Indian setting with > 50% of the population still not exclusively breastfeeding their infants for the WHO recommended duration of first 6 months. Behavioral studies dissecting the complex interplay of factors influencing EBF within the heterogenous Indian population can help plan interventions to promote and scale-up EBF in Indian infants.

Indexed as

Breast FeedingMothersChildFemaleHealth SurveysHumansInfantMilk, HumanSurveys and QuestionnairesExclusive breastfeedingFactorsIndiaInfantsNational Family Health Survey

Identifiers

PMID38124065
PMCPMC10731841

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.