@article {Gebremedhine023238, author = {Samson Gebremedhin}, title = {Core and optional infant and young child feeding indicators in Sub-Saharan Africa: a cross-sectional study}, volume = {9}, number = {2}, elocation-id = {e023238}, year = {2019}, doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023238}, publisher = {British Medical Journal Publishing Group}, abstract = {Objective The objective of the study is to determine the status of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) based on multiple indicators.Design Secondary data analysis of 32 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in SSA since 2010.Setting Thirty-two countries in SSA.Participants 151 575 infants and young children born in the preceding 2 years of the surveys.Indicators determined Eight core and six optional IYCF indicators.Results Majority (95.8\%) of the children born in the preceding 24 months were ever breastfed, and 50.5\% initiated breastfeeding within the first hour of birth. Among infants 0{\textendash}5 months of age, 72.3\% were predominantly breastfed and 41.0\% were exclusively breastfed. Continued breastfeeding at 1 year (89.5\%) was reasonably high, but only 53.7\% continued breastfeeding at 2 years and 60.4\% had age-appropriate breastfeeding. About two-thirds (69.3\%) of infants 6{\textendash}8 months of age received solid, semisolid or soft food over the previous day across the countries. Among children 6{\textendash}23 months of age, 41.9\% met the minimum recommended meal frequency, while smaller proportions satisfied the minimum dietary diversity (21.0\%) and acceptable diet (9.8\%). About one-third (37.6\%) of children 6{\textendash}23 months of age consumed iron-rich or iron-fortified food over the previous day. Among non-breastfed children, only 15.0\% received the recommended two or more milk feedings. Thirteen per cent were fed with a bottle with a nipple in the previous day. Country-level estimates for most indicators showed remarkable variations. Yet the minimum dietary diversity and acceptable diet indicators were consistently low.Conclusion Most breastfeeding-related indicators, except exclusive and early initiation of breastfeeding, are in an acceptable level in SSA. However, complementary feeding indicators are generally low.}, issn = {2044-6055}, URL = {https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/2/e023238}, eprint = {https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/2/e023238.full.pdf}, journal = {BMJ Open} }