Effect of maternal smoking on breastfeeding indicators in Jordan : results from 2007 demographic and health survey.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the association between maternal smoking and breastfeeding indicators: initiation, duration, and exclusivity among children between the ages of 0 to 1 year old.Methods: A secondary analysis based on the data from Jordan Demographic Health Survey (JDHS) conducted in 2007. The study was a cross-sectional survey of the Jordanian population at the national level. The sample included 2214 children between the ages of 0 to 1 year old and was obtained by using a stratified sampling method. For the survey to be executed, two questionnaires were prepared and pilot tested. These questionnaires were developed and validated in English and Arabic. The first is the Household Questionnaire and the second is the Individual Questionnaire (for eligible women).Results: prevalence of smoking (cigarette or water-pipe) among women was 8.0percent. Early initiation (1 hour) was reported among 37.1percent of the mothers. The mean± standard deviation of duration of breastfeeding was 5.14± 3.42 months. For exclusive breastfeeding, children ≤6 months were selected (1262 children). A small proportion of children, who were between 0-6 months, were exclusively breastfed (10.1percent). In the bivariate analysis, smoking was significantly associated with early initiation and duration of breastfeeding. Among smokers, 25.2percent initiated early compared to 38.1percent in non-smokers and the mean of breastfeeding duration among smokers was 4.28±3.33 months compared to 5.21±3.42 months in non-smokers. As for exclusive breastfeeding, An equal proportion of children were exclusively breastfed (around 10percent) among smoking and non-smoking mothers and these results were not significant. After controlling for potential confounders, results remained significant for initiation and duration of breastfeeding. The odds of early initiation in smoking mothers is 0.56 times the odds of non-smokers (95percentCI= 0.37, 0.86). Regarding duration, for every 1 unit increase in smoking, breastfeeding duration decreases by 0.90 months (95percentCI= -1.47,