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Breastfeeding: Fact sheet
NDHS 2016
- Breastfeeding is very common in Nepal with 99% of children ever breastfed.
- More than half (55%) of children are breastfed within the first hour of life.
- Three in ten children who were ever breastfed received a prelactal feed, though this is not recommended.
- WHO recommends that children receive nothing but breastmilk (exclusive breastfeeding) for the first six months of life.
- Two-thirds of children under six months are exclusively breastfed. Children under three breastfeed for an average of 30.5 months and are exclusively breastfed for 4.3 months.
- Complementary foods should be introduced when a child is six months old to reduce the risk of malnutrition.
- In Nepal, 83% of children age 6-8 months are breastfed and receive complementary foods.
Major indicators
| Indicator | Description | Nepal | Province 1 | Province 2 | Bagmati | Gandaki | Province 5 | Karnali | Sudurpaschim | Source |
| Early initiation of breastfeeding | Percentage of most recent live-born children to women with a live birth in the last 2 years who were put to the breast within one hour of birth | 41.7 | 42.5 | 48.5 | 30.2 | 28.7 | 47.4 | 39.7 | 50.0 | NMICS2019 |
| Exclusive breastfeeding under 6 months | Percentage of infants under 6 months of age who are exclusively breastfed | 62.1 | 60.6 | 69.9 | 51.1 | 58.4 | 63.2 | 68.3 | 55.0 | NMICS2019 |
| Predominant breastfeeding under 6 months | Percentage of infants under 6 months of age who received breast milk as the predominant source of nourishment11 during the previous day | 78.5 | 80.3 | 85.2 | 62.9 | 72.1 | 80.9 | 88.5 | 74.0 | NMICS2019 |
| Continued breastfeeding at 1 year | Percentage of children age 12-15 months who received breast milk during the previous day | 95.5 | 95.2 | 89.5 | 99.2 | 92.1 | 99.4 | 95.9 | 97.0 | NMICS2019 |
| Continued breastfeeding at 2 years | Percentage of children age 20-23 months who received breast milk during the previous day | 87.6 | 87.3 | 75.0 | 85.8 | 91.0 | 96.9 | 89.8 | 93.4 | NMICS2019 |
| Duration of breastfeeding | The age in months when 50 percent of children age 0-35 months did not receive breast milk during the previous day | 36+ | 33.1 | 34.0 | 31.6 | 36+ | 36+ | 36+ | 36+ | NMICS2019 |
| Age appropriate breastfeeding | Percentage of children age 0-23 months appropriately fed12 during the previous day | 81.4 | 80.6 | 76.0 | 84.2 | 86.1 | 83.4 | 80.2 | 82.9 | NMICS2019 |
| Introduction of solid, semisolid or soft foods | Percentage of infants age 6-8 months who received solid, semi-solid or soft foods during the previous day | 86.0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | NMICS2019 |
| Percentage of children under age 2 who received breastfed within 1 hour of birth | 55 | NDHS 2016 | ||||||||
| Percentage of children under age 6 months who exclusively breastfed | 66% | NDHS 2016 |
