Magnitude of prelacteal feeding practice and its association with place of birth in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis, 2017.

BACKGROUND: Prelacteal feeding is one of the commonest inappropriate child feeding practice which exposes to malnutrition, infection, and neonatal mortality. However, there is no systematic review and meta-analysis that estimates the pooled prevalence of prelacteal feeding and its association with place of birth in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the magnitude of prelacteal feeding practice and its association with home delivery in the country. METHODS: Primary studies were accessed through, HINARI and PubMed databases. Additionally, electronics search engines such as Google Scholar, and Google were used. The Joana Briggs Institute quality appraisal checklist was used to appraise the quality of studies. Data were extracted using Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Heterogeneity between the studies was examined using the I2 heterogeneity test. The DerSimonian and Liard random-effect model was used. The random effects were pooled after conducting subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Publication bias was also checked. RESULTS: A total of 780 primary studies were accessed. However, about 24 studies were included in the qualitative description and quantitative analysis of the prevalence of prelacteal feeding. To examine the association between home delivery and prelacteal feeding practice, only six studies were included. The prevalence of prelacteal feeding ranged from 6.1-75.8%. The pooled prevalence of prelacteal feeding among Ethiopian children was 26.95% (95% CI: 17.76%, 36.14%). The highest prevalence was observed in the Afar region. The pooled odds of prelacteal feeding among women who gave birth at home was increased by 5.16 (95% CI: 3.7, 7.2) folds as compared to those who gave birth at Health institutions. CONCLUSION: Prelacteal feeding practice in Ethiopia was found to be high. Home delivery was strongly associated with prelacteal feeding practice. Therefore, promoting institutional delivery and strengthening of the existing child nutrition strategies are recommended.