Infant and Young Child Feeding Indicators

The main purpose of a common set of indicators is to standardize the assessment and evaluation of breastfeeding behaviors across programs implemented and funded by different organizations. LINKAGES used a common set of infant and young child feeding indicators based on WHO definitions (1991) and Wellstart International’s toolkit for monitoring and evaluating breastfeeding activities (1996). These standard indicators have all been field tested prior to application. They are limited in number and fairly easy to measure and interpret. This section of the website defines LINKAGES’ primary indicators, provides sample surveys for collecting information used to calculate the rates, and notes the indicators’ strengths and limitations.

Timely initiation of breastfeeding rate
Exclusive breastfeeding rate
Lactational amenorrhea method rate
Timely complementary feeding rate