Abstract

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life is essential for optimal infant health and development, yet its practice remains inadequate in many developing countries. Appropriate exclusive breastfeeding practices are important in reducing the incidence of malnutrition and improving the health and growth outcome of children. However, a few children receive exclusive breastfeeding hence low prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding practices in developing countries. The objective of this review is to review and integrate findings from different studies to determine factors contributing to inadequate exclusive breastfeeding practices of children aged 0-6 months in developing countries. A literature search on factors contributing to inadequate exclusive breastfeeding practices in developing countries was undertaken in PubMed, Cochrane, Elsevier, PLOS One, EMBASE and web of science to identify relevant studies between 2015 and 2025. Twenty-nine studies were initially retrieved, with ten studies that met the study inclusion criteria chosen for data synthesis. Factors found to contribute to the inadequate exclusive breastfeeding were: age and gender of the child, occupation of the mother, age of the mother, education level of the mother, marital status of the mother, mode of delivery, family size, antenatal visits, place of residence, household income, and exclusive breastfeeding intention during pregnancy. Exclusive breastfeeding practices for children 0-6 months are influenced by multifaceted factors that should be considered when developing strategies to improve nutrition and prevent diseases associated with poor nutrition, thus boosting children's chances of survival.

Keywords

  • Inadequate exclusive breastfeeding
  • breastfeeding rate
  • exclusive breastfeeding EBF

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