Factors associated with bottle feeding in children aged 0–23 months in Indonesia

Introduction: Due to the high risk of contamination, the practice of bottle feeding with a nipple is discouraged by the governments around the world. This study aims to examine the prevalence and factors associated with bottle feeding among children aged 0–23 months in Indonesia. Methods: Data from the 2017 Demographic Health Survey (DHS) of Indonesia were used with a cross-sectional study design. The research included last-born children aged 0–23 months using a sample of 6,763 mother–baby pairs. The independent variables included marital status, mother’s education and occupation, wealth quintile, place of residence, type of delivery, sex of child, and child’s age. The dependent variable in this study was using bottle feeding. Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression were used to examine the association between bottle feeding and related factors. Results: The prevalence of bottle feeding in Indonesia was 37.9%. Multivariate analysis showed that mothers with a higher education level (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 4.9, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 2.3–10.3), working mothers (AOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.4–1.8), richest family (AOR 1.8, 95% CI 1.5–2.3), urban living (AOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.3–1.8), caesarean delivery (AOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.3–1.8), female child (AOR 0.8, 95% CI 0.7–0.9) and children aged 6–23 (AOR 1.4, 95% CI 1.2–1.6) were significantly associated with the use of bottle feeding relative to their counterparts. Conclusion: The increased risks of using bottle feeding have been significantly associated with maternal and child factors as well as the wealth index and urban residence. Continued support of discouragement of bottle feeding policy needs to be enhanced by considering significant variables in this study