Association between mass media exposure and infant and young child feeding practices in India: a cross-sectional study

The first two years of life is a critical window for good nutrition. Promoting infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in the first two years can help improve child survival and promote healthy growth and development. Assessment of IYCF practices is important, especially in developing countries like India where optimal IYCF practices can potentially prevent 12% of all deaths under 5 years of age, to promote awareness and intervene appropriately. The objective of our study is to generate evidence for the association between different types of mass media and appropriate IYCF practices in India, including optimal breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding practices. A positive association between them can point to intervention at scale. We analyzed data from India’s National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS-5), 2019–2021. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association of appropriate IYCF practices with mass media exposure. After controlling for demographics and socioeconomic status, the analyses showed that, overall, women who had exposure to television followed by newspaper and movies, had higher odds of adopting the recommended IYCF practices. The results also showed that the association of media exposure varied for different IYCF practices by geography. For instance, in the rural areas, television exposure was positively associated with all the IYCF practices, but in the urban areas, television exposure was positively associated with only early initiation of breastfeeding [OR 1.25; (95% CI 1.1–1.42)]. The study strengthens our understanding that an appropriate selection of mass media channels for intervention programs can promote IYCF practices at scale. Appropriately selecting the type of mass media to create awareness about different IYCF practices, in specific urban–rural settings, could help customize intervention programs to successfully influence IYCF behaviors.