Breastfeeding Status and Some of its Related Factors in the Golestan Province

Mother’s milk plays an important role in infant’s health. The aim of this study was to determine the breastfeeding status and some of its related factors among children less than 5 year old, in northern countryside of Iran. This descriptive cross-sectional and retrospective study was done on 2520 children aged 6-60 months (1309=males and 1211=females) chosen by cluster and random sampling from 20 of 118 villages of Golestan provience. Data was collected by questionnaire and anthropometric measurements were performed. Duration of breastfeeding was computed only for over 24 months old children. Data was analyzed using SPSS-PC (v.16). The mean duration of exclusive breast-feeding was 5.59 months and 66.4% of children had exclusive breast-feeding at least for 6 months. Although exclusive breast-feeding period in Turkmen ethnic group was lower than others, breastfeeding duration in this group was higher than other ethnic groups. Five months of exclusive Breast-feeding in Fars (native) group was 14.6% more than Turkman ethnic group (P=0.001). Exclusive breast-feeding period significantly increased with maternal education level(P=0.004).The mean time of breastfeeding was 20.6 months and 89.3% and 74.7% of children breastfed at least 18 and 24 months, respectively. Duration of lactation was positively correlated with family size, birth order, maternal age and the children’s nutritional status (p<0.05). Two thirds of children in Gorgan countryside enjoy exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months. Some socio-economic factors influence the pattern of breast feeding.