Exclusive breastfeeding: aligning the indicator with the goal

Glob Health Sci Pract. 2014 Aug 5;2(3):355-6. doi: 10.9745/GHSP-D-14-00061. eCollection 2014 Aug.

Abstract

While the global objective is exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for a full 6 months duration, the standard indicator is a "prevalence" indicator, that is, the percentage of all children under age 6 months who are exclusively breastfed at a point in time. That yields a higher percentage than a more direct indicator of duration and can be easily misunderstood, exaggerating the amount of EBF. A measurement of actual percentage of children exclusively breastfeeding for a full 6 months can be easily calculated from standard DHS and MICS data.

MeSH terms

  • Breast Feeding*
  • Goals
  • Health Status Indicators
  • Humans
  • Time Factors
  • World Health Organization