NBFEDOTHMLK_ALL variables are 1-digit variables.

0 = No
1 = Yes, other woman's milk
8 = Missing
9 = NIU (not in universe)

Description

For women who gave birth in the last three to five years, NBFEDOTHMLK_ALL indicates whether the child was given breastmilk from a woman other than the mother (a wetnurse) in the first three days after the birth.

NBFEDOTHMLK_ALL consists of a set of six separate variables, covering the most recent birth (NBFEDOTHMLK_01) up to the sixth-most-recent birth (i.e., NBFEDOTHMLK_02, NBFEDOTHMLK_03, NBFEDOTHMLK_04, NBFEDOTHMLK_05, and NBFEDOTHMLK_06) during the reference period prior to the survey. If NBFEDOTHMLK_ALL is included in a data extract, all these separate variables are included in a researcher's data file.

For surveys including this question, information for this variable was collected on all births, up to a maximum of six, in the reference period. In many cases, data were hypothetically collected on up to six births, but no women in the survey had so many births (e.g., no woman had 4 or more births in 3 years, or had 5 or 6 births in 5 years). If, for example, no woman in a survey had 6 births in five years and only blank values were included in the original DHS file, then NBFEDOTHMLK_06 would not be available for that survey in IPUMS-DHS.

Comparability

Along with universe differences, NBFEDOTHMLK_ALL has some slight differences in question wording across samples, in line with the changing wording of the standard question. Specifically, some samples used the phrase "before your milk began flowing freely" as well as "in the first three days after delivery" to define the reference period. Other samples used only "the first three days after delivery" to define the reference period. Consult the Survey Text tab to determine the question wording for samples of interest.

Comparability - Standard DHS

NBFEDOTHMLK_ALL is based on an open-ended question about country-specific foods given to newborns, included in the standard DHS questionnaire for Phase 4 forward. In Phase 4, the standard question wording included the clause "before your milk began flowing regularly," but this phrase was dropped in Phase 5.

Universe