M4 The duration of breastfeeding of the child in months. The maximum period allowed during
the data editing was the interval between the date of birth of the child and the date of
interview. Cases which exceeded this duration were left with the original response, but are
coded with one of the flag codes on variable M27 and were set to code 97 "Inconsistent" on
variable M5. The code 96 (breastfed until died) is no longer used.
M5 The calculated months of breastfeeding gives the duration of breastfeeding as in M4, but
with the duration calculated if the respondent is still breastfeeding the child or the child was
breastfed until it died. Inconsistent durations based on the original reporting of the duration
of breastfeeding are recoded to 97. In cases where the duration was one month longer than
the interval the duration was shortened by one month, consistent with the "Rule of one"
applied in DHS I. If the duration of breastfeeding exceeded the age of death of the child, the
duration of breastfeeding was changed to the age at death of the child.