Exclusive breastfeeding practice and its associated factors among children aged 6-23 months in Woldia Town, Northwest Ethiopia.

Background: Inappropriate practice of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is still a major problem worldwide.

Objective: To identify exclusive breastfeeding practice and its associated factors among children aged 6-23 months in Woldia Town.

Methods: A Community based cross-sectional study was carried out.Interviewer-administered questionnaire was utilized to collect the data. The questionnaire was adapted from the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey. Hosmer-Lemeshow model was fitted at a P-value of 0.91. Finally, Variables having P-Value <0.05 with 95% CI was considered as significant factors.

Result: The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding practice was 46.2% (95% CI: 42.0, 49.8). Being employed mothers (AOR=0.62,95% CI:0.44,0.87), being head of a household (AOR=0.52,95% CI:0.32,0.83), not g getting husband support (AOR:0.5,95%CI:0.34,0.74), not fed colostrum's (AOR:0.36,95%CI:0.23,0.57), not affected by traditional belief (AOR:3.59, 95% CI:2.09-6.17) shows significant association with Exclusive breast feeding practice.

Conclusion: The prevalence of exclusive breast feeding practice was relatively lower than the National prevalence. Some demographic variable and traditional beliefs were significantly associated with exclusive breast feeding. Designing model policies that empower the role of women and eradicating bad traditional beliefs in the community is fundamental step.