Table 2 Distribution of mothers who started breastfeeding within an hour of birth according to the explanatory factors in Nepal (weighted n = 1,978)
| Initiation of breastfeeding | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Early | Delayed | ||
| n (%) | n (%) | p value | |
| Socioeconomic characteristics | |||
| Mother’s age (years) | 0.339 | ||
| 15–19 | 160 (55.0) | 131 (45.0) | |
| 20–24 | 432 (57.6) | 318 (42.4) | |
| 25–29 | 301 (51.6) | 283 (48.4) | |
| 30 and above | 193 (54.6) | 160 (45.4) | |
| Ethnicity | 0.008 | ||
| Relatively advantaged | 325 (60.8) | 210 (39.2) | |
| Relatively disadvantaged | 423 (55.2) | 344 (44.8) | |
| Dalit | 155 (56.3) | 120 (43.7) | |
| Others (Madheshi and other unidentified) | 183 (45.7) | 218 (54.3) | |
| Wealth quintile | 0.094 | ||
| Poorest | 256 (61.9) | 158 (38.1) | |
| Poorer | 225 (53.8) | 193 (46.2) | |
| Middle | 232 (51.1) | 222 (48.9) | |
| Richer | 230 (56.2) | 179 (43.8) | |
| Richest | 144 (50.7) | 140 (49.4) | |
| Mother’s education | 0.071 | ||
| No education | 280 (49.1) | 290 (50.9) | |
| Primary | 222 (56.8) | 169 (43.2) | |
| Secondary | 421 (58.5) | 298 (41.5) | |
| Higher | 164 (55.0) | 134 (45.0) | |
| Mother’s occupation | 0.015 | ||
| Not working | 471 (50.7) | 457 (49.3) | |
| Paid | 128 (56.2) | 99 (43.8) | |
| Agriculture | 488 (59.3) | 335 (40.7) | |
| Place of residence | 0.144 | ||
| Urban | 606 (57.0) | 456 (43.0) | |
| Rural | 481 (52.5) | 435 (47.5) | |
| Ecological region | 0.033 | ||
| Mountain | 80 (61.3) | 51 (38.7) | |
| Hill | 444 (58.4) | 316 (41.6) | |
| Terai (Plain land) | 563 (51.7) | 525 (48.3) | |
| Province | < 0.001 | ||
| Province 1 | 175 (51.6) | 164 (48.4) | |
| Province 2 | 232 (45.3) | 281 (54.7) | |
| Province 3 | 176 (56.4) | 136 (43.6) | |
| Province 4 | 90 (54.7) | 74 (45.3) | |
| Province 5 | 215 (59.1) | 149 (40.9) | |
| Province 6 | 82 (67.6) | 39 (32.4) | |
| Province 7 | 117 (70.7) | 49 (29.3) | |
| Pregnancy-related characteristics | |||
| Mother’s age at first birth (years) | 0.443 | ||
| < 20 | 574 (55.9) | 453 (44.1) | |
| > = 20 | 513 (53.9) | 438 (46.1) | |
| Birth order | 0.978 | ||
| 1 | 442 (54.8) | 364 (45.2) | |
| 2 | 317 (55.3) | 256 (44.7) | |
| 3 or more | 328 (54.7) | 272 (45.3) | |
| Characteristics related to maternal health service utilization | |||
| Frequency of antenatal visits | 0.118 | ||
| No visit | 36 (50.2) | 36 (49.8) | |
| 1–3 | 253 (50.1) | 252 (49.9) | |
| 4 and more | 797 (56.9) | 604 (43.1) | |
| Place of delivery | < 0.001 | ||
| Health facility | 753 (59.3) | 517 (40.6) | |
| Home | 333 (47.0) | 375 (53.0) | |
|
Professional assistance during delivery | 0.003 | ||
| SBAa | 744 (58.3) | 533 (41.7) | |
| Other than SBA | 343 (48.9) | 359 (51.1) | |
| Mode of delivery | < 0.001 | ||
| Vaginal | 738 (41.5) | 1042 (58.5) | |
| Caesarean | 153 (77.5) | 45 (22.5) | |