Prevalence of Early Initiation of Breastfeeding in Thai Preterm Infants: Analysis of WHO Global Survey on Maternal and Perinatal Health

Abstract

Preterm infants have delayed growth and developmental outcomes. Early initiation
of breastfeeding (EIBF) may provide benefit to infants. The World Health Organization (WHO)
and UNICEF recommend initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour after birth. The aims
of this paper were to assess prevalence of EIBF in preterm infants and to identify associated
factors of the initiation of breastfeeding (IBF).
This is a descriptive study conducted in singleton infants delivered between 220/7
to 366/7 week gestation age of the database of World Health Organization Global Survey
(WHOGS) on Maternal and Perinatal Health from 1 2 facilities in Thailand. Exclusion were
infants with their mothers having HIV/AIDs, birth weight <500g and stillbirths. After deleting
missing data of breastfeeding, the analysis was done in 1,029 women. Prevalence of EIBF
(<one hour after births) and its associated factors were analyzed by using multilevel logistic
regression adjusted for clustering effect due to facility-levels.
The prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding was approximately 34.1% (95%
confidence interval [CI]=29.6–38.7%). The prevalence of EIBFs varied among facility ranging
from 1.4% to 87.5%. The highest prevalence was observed in Sisaket province, 62.1% (95% CI=
57.8-66.3%). The lowest prevalence was observed in Bangkok for 17.0% (95% CI=12.5-21.6%).
Factors having significantly negative association to EIBF were infants admitted to neonatal
ICU, low-birth-weight, non-normal deliveries, and urban facility.
Our finding shows only one third prevalence of EIBF of preterm infants and very
differences among the Thai facilities of the WHO databases. Intensive and explicit strategies
to increase the prevalence of EIBF, especially in preterm infants must be urgently needed in
the facility with low prevalence.