ArticleInternational breastfeeding journal2024
Effect of exclusive breastfeeding and other infant and young child feeding practices on childhood morbidity outcomes: associations for infants 0-6 months in 5 South Asian countries using Demographic and Health Survey data.
Article in International breastfeeding journal, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Association Between Exclusive Breastfeeding and Diarrhoea Morbidity in Infants Aged 0-6 Months: A Rapid Review and Meta-Analysis.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Article
- Undernutrition in Infants Aged Under Six Months: A Multi-Center Cross-Sectional Study in Two Governorates in Yemen.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Women's empowerment and child stunting in Peru: a nationally representative analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Prevalences and determinants of newborn feeding practices in the Netherlands: insights from the 2023 national survey.European journal of public health · 2026Article
- The interplay between malnutrition, persistent diarrhea, lactose intolerance, and food associated gut dysbiosis in children; a comprehensive review.BMC pediatrics · 2026Review
- Decision-making process of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months postpartum based on the COM-B model: a multicenter, cross-sectional study in Southeast China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Decline in exclusive breastfeeding beyond early infancy, regional variations, socioeconomic influences, and growth outcomes: a population-based study from northeastern Iran.International breastfeeding journal · 2025Article
- Impact of breastfeeding education with WhatsApp follow-up on infant feeding, growth, and health outcomes: a quasi-experimental study in Malaysia.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Exclusive breastfeeding practices in Afghanistan: evidence from the 2022-2023 multiple indicator cluster survey.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Childhood diarrhoeal disease in South Asian countries: a population-based analysis.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Are There Benefits to Breastfeeding for Long Durations That Continue after Breastfeeding Has Stopped? An Analysis of Acute Respiratory Illness in Nigerian Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Association of early-term birth and breastfeeding practices with nutritional outcomes in singleton term infants: a multicenter cross-sectional study.International breastfeeding journal · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite growing evidence of the impacts of exclusively breastfeeding infants during the first 6 months of life on preventing childhood infections and ensuring optimal health, only a small number of studies have quantified this association in South Asia.
methodsWe analyzed data from the Demographic and Health Surveys in Afghanistan (2015; n = 3462), Bangladesh (2017-2018; n = 1084), India (2019-2021; n = 26,101), Nepal (2022; n = 581), and Pakistan (2017-2018; n = 1,306), including babies aged 0-6 months. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the association between exclusive breastfeeding in the last 24 h and diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, and fever in the two weeks before the survey. We also examined the association between other infant and young feeding indicators and these outcomes.
resultsInfants who were exclusive breastfed had decreased odds of diarrhoea in Afghanistan (AOR: 0.49, 95% CI 0.35, 0.70), India (AOR: 0.80, 95% CI 0.70, 0.91), and Nepal (AOR: 0.42, 95% CI 0.20, 0.89). Compared with infants who were not exclusive breastfed, infants who were exclusively breastfed were less likely to have fever in Afghanistan (AOR: 0.36, 95% CI 0.26, 0.50) and India (AOR: 0.75, 95% CI 0.67, 0.84). Exclusive breastfeeding was associated with lower odds of acute respiratory infections in Afghanistan (AOR: 0.57, 95% CI 0.39, 0.83). Early initiation of breastfeeding was protective against diarrhoea in India. Bottle feeding was a risk factor for diarrhoea in India and for fever in Afghanistan and India. Bottle feeding was also a risk factor for acute respiratory infection in Afghanistan and India.
conclusionsNot exclusive breastfeeding is a risk factor for diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, and fever in some South Asian countries. These findings could have substantial implications for global and national efforts to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates. More support, advocacy, and action are required to boost breastfeeding rates as a crucial public health measure.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.