The Survey of Exclusive Breast Feeding and Some Socio-Economical Determinants in Shazand-Arak in 2014

Infancy is one of the most sensitive periods of life and breast milk is the perfect food for infants during the first few months of life. The aim of this study was to determine the status of breast feeding and some socio-economical determinants in Shazand City of Markazi Province in 2014. In this cross-sectional study، 283 mothers with newborns less than 6 months referring to Health centers of Shazand were selected using convenience sampling. Data was collected by demographic checklist، and analyzed with SPSS version 20، using descriptive statistics، Chi-square and fisher exact tests. In this study 70. 7% of the children were exclusively breastfed. Based on the result of the chi-square test، exclusive breast feeding was significantly lower in the high-income households (p=0. 004). Also، exclusive breast feeding was lower in the households with smaller family size (p=0. 010). Other variables did not show any significant association with breast feeding (p>0. 05). Exclusive breastfeeding in the city of Shazand shows a desirable situation. Health planning by officials and health education programs، especially for high income households about the importance of exclusive breast feeding is essential for the sustainment and promotion of this healthy behavio. r