Nearly one-in-five mothers avoid colostrum in North Wollo Zone, Ethiopia: an institution-based cross-sectional study

Colostrum contains antibodies that protect the newborn against disease. Despite this fact, many Ethiopian mothers see colostrum feeding as a cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. These mothers believe that colostrum must discard to alleviate this effect. However, the cause of this misconception about colostrum was not well researched, particularly in this study area. The main aim of the present study was to assess colostrum avoidance and associated factors among mothers having children aged 6–59 months in North Wollo Zone, Northeastern Ethiopia. An institution-based cross-sectional study design was used. Descriptive statistics, binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used for the statistical analysis. The prevalence of colostrum avoidance was 19 % (95 % CI 15⋅03, 22⋅89 %) among mother–child pair aged 6–59 months. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, the most important predictors were breast-feeding initiation Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 6⋅369; 95 %, Confidence Interval (CI) (3⋅067, 13⋅224), pre-lacteal feeding AOR 3⋅464; 95 % CI (1⋅721, 6⋅973), shared household decision about child feeding AOR 3⋅585; 95 % CI (1⋅563, 7⋅226), Index child sex AOR 2⋅103; 95 % CI (1⋅015, 4⋅358) and health facility delivery AOR 3⋅033; 95 % CI (1⋅293, 7⋅117). The colostrum avoidance in the present study was 19 %. The study recommends the promotion of institutional delivery, timely initiation of breast-feeding, the shared household decisions about child feeding, avoiding sex preferences and stopping pre-lacteal feeding were critically important.