| Abstract: | Breastfeeding was studied among 10,240 urban and 10,794 rural mothers whose children ranged in age from 18-23 months. The sample size for rural and urban areas was equal but in each province, cluster sampling was used proportional to the population of each district. Results of the study show that between 17-28% of urban mothers in the provinces have deprived their children of the minimum period of breastfeeding (4 months). The results also show that between 51-68% of mothers have breastfed their children for at least 1 year. The % of mothers who have breastfed their children for at least 1.5 years was in the 36-50% range. On the other hand, 11-22% of mother residing in rural areas have never breastfed their children: if they have, the period was for less than 4 months. The % of mothers who have breastfed their children for at least 1 year is in the 61-79% range. The % for those mothers who breastfed their children for 1.5 years is between 47-66%. The overall conclusion is that: rural mothers are more willing to breastfeed their children than urban mothers; that in all urban and some rural areas, illiterate mothers have a higher % of breastfeeding; and that is some rural areas, literate mothers breastfed their sons more than their daughters. |
