predictors of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months: a cross-sectional study in ardabil, northwest of iran

Background: breast milk provides essential and irreplaceable nutrients for an infant’s growth and development. consequently, exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of an infant’s life is important for their health and survival.  this study aimed to determine predictors of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months among infants in iran.methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted on 379 lactating women with infants >6 months. participants attended health care centers in ardabil city, iran during 2020. information about mothers and infants was collected via a questionnaire. differences in characteristics of women that engaged in exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months (ebf-6) compared to no exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months (nebf-6) was analyzed via t-tests. predictors of exclusive breastfeeding among the infants were examined via logistic regression analyses.results: there were 196 respondents (51.7%) categorized into ebf-6 compared to 183 respondents (48.3%) categorized into nebf-6. a greater number of women in ebf-6 compared to nebf-6 were housewives (p=0.034). additionally, the time of the first breastfeeding after birth was earlier for ebf-6 compared to nebf-6 (p<0.001). among the variables related to exclusive breastfeeding, only the predictive power of breastfeeding in the first half hour after birth was confirmed (p=0.002). this finding suggested that breastfeeding soon after birth led to an increase of almost 6 times in the probability of engaging in exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months.conclusions: breastfeeding soon after birth appears to strongly influence the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. considering the important role of this practice in maintaining and ensuring maternal and child health, early initiation of breastfeeding after birth should be prioritized.