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Fatoumata Binta Diallo, Linda Bell, Jean-Marie Moutquin, Marie-Pierre Garant. The effects of exclusive versus non-exclusive breastfeeding on specific infant morbidities in Conakry (Guinea). The Pan African Medical Journal. 2009;2:2 Key words: Breast Feeding,Morbidity, Infant, Africa Permanent link: http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/2/2/full Received: 06/01/2009 - Accepted: 26/03/2009 - Published: 03/04/2009 © Fatoumata Binta Diallo et al. The Pan African Medical Journal - ISSN 1937-8688. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
The effects of exclusive versus non-exclusive breastfeeding on specific infant morbidities in Conakry (Guinea)
Fatoumata Binta Diallo1&, Linda Bell2, Jean-Marie Moutquin 2, Marie-Pierre Garant3
1 Département de Santé Publique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada, 2 Département de Sciences cliniques, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada, 3 Centre de Recherche Clinique Étienne-Le Bel du CHUS, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
&Corresponding author
Fatoumata Binta Diallo, Bureau 3374-30, CP.6128 Succ. Centre ville, Montréal (Québec) H3C 3J7, Tél 1: (514) 343 6111 poste 1-1043, Tél 2: (514) 495 3485
Background
This study examines the effect of exclusive versus non-exclusive breastfeeding on specific infant morbidities from birth to nine months, in Conakry (Guinea).
Method
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,167 mother-infant pairs who visited one of 20 immunization centres in Conakry for vaccination between the 45th and 270th days of the child’s life. Two data sources were used: the infant health book and an orally administered questionnaire completed with the mother. Data analyses included univariate cross-tabulations and multivariate logistic regression models to estimate the effect of breastfeeding on infant morbidity.
Results
Exclusive breastfeeding decreased with the infant’s age. At six months of age, the proportion of infants who were exclusively breastfed was only 15.5%. After adjusting for the infant’s age, and the interaction between the type of breastfeeding and the infant’s age, exclusive breastfeeding significantly protected the infants against many of the studied morbidities (OR: 0.28, CI: 0.15-0.51) and specifically against diarrhoea (OR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.17 – 0.86), respiratory infections (OR: 0.27; 95% CI: 0.14 – 0.50), and low growth rate (OR: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.02 – 0.46), but not for otitis, urinary infection, or meningitis.
Conclusion
This investigation confirmed the protective effects of exclusive breastfeeding on some specific infant’s morbidities during the first nine months of life. The results of this study are of great importance for the development of an information program designed to encourage the exclusive breastfeeding among the mothers of Conakry, Guinea.
