Determinants of optimum exclusive breastfeeding duration in rural India: a mixed method approach using cohort and content analysis design.

Background: Despite established benefits, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rate remains poor in India. This study measured the rate of early initiation of breastfeeding and EBF up to 42 days postpartum period and the reasons associated with early interruption of it.

Methods: In this study we followed a cohort 319 mother-newborn dyads, on a scheduled day of each week for six postpartum weeks (42 postpartum days), during May 2017 - March 2019.