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How is maternal employment associated with infant and young child feeding in Bangladesh? A systematic literature review and meta-analysis

Rifat, M. A. ; Sarkar, Plabon ; Jahan Rimu, Israth ; Saima Alam, Syeda ; Ara, Tasnu ; Lindström Battle, Tobias ; Kader, Manzur LU and Saha, Sanjib LU (2025) In PLoS ONE 20(1). p.1-22
Abstract
Background
In the last three decades, the increasing trend in female employment in Bangladesh has been critically analyzed from a socioeconomic point of view; however, its impact on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices has yet to be systematically reviewed. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to investigate the association between these variables.

Methods
A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, and Google Scholar to retrieve relevant records with no restriction of publication period. The Covidence tool was used for screening and data extraction. Meta-analysis was carried out using random effect models. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used... (More)
Background
In the last three decades, the increasing trend in female employment in Bangladesh has been critically analyzed from a socioeconomic point of view; however, its impact on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices has yet to be systematically reviewed. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to investigate the association between these variables.

Methods
A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, and Google Scholar to retrieve relevant records with no restriction of publication period. The Covidence tool was used for screening and data extraction. Meta-analysis was carried out using random effect models. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used for the quality assessment of the included articles.

Results
A total of 24 articles were included. Of these, 16 focused on breastfeeding-related indicators, 6 focused on complementary feeding-related indicators, and 2 focused on both. Maternal employment was found to have both positive (protective) and negative (detrimental) associations with exclusive breastfeeding, whereas it was mainly positively associated with complementary feeding practices. Meta-analysis showed the pooled odds ratio of recommended early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding, and complementary feeding among employed mothers were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.49, 1.27; p = 0.33), 0.32 (95% CI:0.16, 0.67; p = 0.002), and 1.07 (95% CI: 0.81, 1.42; p = 0.63) compared to their counterparts, respectively.

Conclusions
Maternal employment appears not to be a protective factor for some important breastfeeding indicators in Bangladesh. For example, there was a statistically significant lower likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding practice among employed mothers as compared to those who were not employed. Therefore, these issues should be taken into consideration when formulating relevant policies and interventions, e.g., breastfeeding-friendly workplace. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
PLoS ONE
volume
20
issue
1
article number
e0316436
pages
1 - 22
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:39854519
  • scopus:85216487184
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0316436
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
095c31f6-0e53-46ae-937b-20f2a9c9123f
date added to LUP
2025-01-25 09:55:04
date last changed
2025-04-09 15:05:52
@article{095c31f6-0e53-46ae-937b-20f2a9c9123f,
  abstract     = {{Background<br/>In the last three decades, the increasing trend in female employment in Bangladesh has been critically analyzed from a socioeconomic point of view; however, its impact on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices has yet to be systematically reviewed. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to investigate the association between these variables.<br/><br/>Methods<br/>A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, and Google Scholar to retrieve relevant records with no restriction of publication period. The Covidence tool was used for screening and data extraction. Meta-analysis was carried out using random effect models. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used for the quality assessment of the included articles.<br/><br/>Results<br/>A total of 24 articles were included. Of these, 16 focused on breastfeeding-related indicators, 6 focused on complementary feeding-related indicators, and 2 focused on both. Maternal employment was found to have both positive (protective) and negative (detrimental) associations with exclusive breastfeeding, whereas it was mainly positively associated with complementary feeding practices. Meta-analysis showed the pooled odds ratio of recommended early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding, and complementary feeding among employed mothers were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.49, 1.27; p = 0.33), 0.32 (95% CI:0.16, 0.67; p = 0.002), and 1.07 (95% CI: 0.81, 1.42; p = 0.63) compared to their counterparts, respectively.<br/><br/>Conclusions<br/>Maternal employment appears not to be a protective factor for some important breastfeeding indicators in Bangladesh. For example, there was a statistically significant lower likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding practice among employed mothers as compared to those who were not employed. Therefore, these issues should be taken into consideration when formulating relevant policies and interventions, e.g., breastfeeding-friendly workplace.}},
  author       = {{Rifat, M. A. and Sarkar, Plabon and Jahan Rimu, Israth and Saima Alam, Syeda and Ara, Tasnu and Lindström Battle, Tobias and Kader, Manzur and Saha, Sanjib}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{1--22}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{How is maternal employment associated with infant and young child feeding in Bangladesh? A systematic literature review and meta-analysis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316436}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0316436}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}