Exclusive breastfeeding and it’s determinants in Indonesia, 2022

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first six months of life is crucial for infant health as it is associated with positive health outcome. However, it’s coverage remains low in Indonesia therefore, closing this gap involves identifying characteristics associated to exclusive breastfeeding. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the EBF practices and its associated factors in Indonesia. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study analysed secondary data from the 2022 Indonesia National Nutrition Survey. An analysis was conducted on 3,989 6-month-old infants from 33 provinces who were breastfed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the factors associated with EBF, presenting Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). Results: The study results revealed that 44.95% (95% CI: 43.40-46.49) of infants received EBF. History of early initiation breastfeed (AOR=1.64, 95% CI: 1.45–1.87, P-value: <0.001), received nutritional counseling (AOR=1.16, 95% CI: 1.01-1.32, P-value: 0.026), those who participated in health promotion programs (AOR=1.47, 95% CI: 1.04–2.08, P-value: 0.026) and mother occupations recognized as employed (AOR=1.12, 95% CI: 1.03–1.34, P-value: 0.012) were more likely to practice EBF. Conclusion: Less than a half of infants in Indonesia received EBF. Infants who had early initiation breastfeeding and mother who participated in health promotion programs were significant factors associated with EBF. Moreover, receiving nutritional counselling and mother occupation were also important factor associated with EBF although the magnitude of effect was small to make decisive conclusion. Therefore, appropriate policies and strategies should be employed to encourage early initiation of breastfeeding, to empower women in participating health programs including nutritional counselling to enhance EBF. Likewise, it is also fundamental to create workplace that allows women to be employed while continuing EBF.