Determinants of breastfeeding duration in Bangladesh : a hazards model analysis

Data from the 1989 Bangladesh Fertility Survey were used to study the determinants of breast feeding duration in Bangladesh. The survey collected data from a nationally representative sample of 11,906 ever-married women under age 50 years, 7516 of whom provided information on the breast feeding duration of their last born child. 198 reported never having breast fed, 2050 had weaned by the date of interview, 381 breast fed until the death of the child, and 4887 were still breast feeding at the date of the interview. It was found through hazards analysis that maternal characteristics such as mother's education, mother's age at the birth of the index child, and parity are more important covariates in explaining breast feeding duration than the spousal characteristics such as husband's education and husband's occupation which proved statistically insignificant. Mothers with higher education are more likely than women with below secondary education to terminate breast feeding, while higher parity women are associated with extended durations of breast feeding. Mother's age at birth of the index child has a positive significant effect upon the duration of breast feeding.