Background: Prelacteal feeding (PLF) is a barrier to exclusive breast feeding.
Objective: To determine factors associated with PLF in rural and urban Nigeria.
Methods: We utilized data from the 2013 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were
used to test for association between PLF and related factors.
Results: Prevalence of PLF in urban Nigeria was 49.8%, while in rural Nigeria it was 66.4%. Sugar or glucose water was given
more in urban Nigeria (9.7% vs 2.9%), plain water was given more in rural Nigeria (59.9% vs 40.8% ). The multivariate analysis
revealed that urban and rural Nigeria shared similarities with respect to factors like mother’s education, place of delivery, and
size of child at birth being significant predictors of PLF. Mode of delivery and type of birth were significant predictors of PLF
only in urban Nigeria, whereas, mother’s age at birth was a significant predictor of PLF only in rural Nigeria. Zones also showed
variations in the odds of PLF according to place of residence.
Conclusion: Interventions aimed at decreasing PLF rate should be through a tailored approach, and should target at risk sub
-groups based on place of residence