Across-Country Comparisons of Selected Infant and Young Child Feeding Indicators and Associated Factors in Four South Asian Countries

BACKGROUND: Information on infant and young child feeding is widely available in Demographic and Health Surveys and National Family Health Surveys for countries in South Asia; however, infant and young child feeding indicators from these surveys have not been compared between countries in the region. OBJECTIVE: To compare the key indicators of breastfeeding and complementary feeding and their determinants in children under 24 months of age between four South Asian countries. METHODS: We selected data sets from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2004, the India National Family Health Survey (NFHS-03) 2005-06, the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2006, and the Sri Lanka 2000 Demographic and Health Survey. Infant feeding indicators were estimated according to the key World Health Organization…