Mothers' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices concerning exclusive breastfeeding in Calabar, Nigeria (original) (raw)
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J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage, 2021
Exclusive breastfeeding provides nutritional, and developmental psychological advantages with regard to general wellbeing of an infant and has dramatically reduced infant deaths in developing countries. This study assessed the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Exclusive Breastfeeding among women attending antenatal clinic in four communities within Gwagwalada Area Council of FCT, Abuja. The questionnaire sought socio-demographic information, Religion and cultural influence as well as knowledge and awareness level of EBF practice. The data collected was analyzed using Odd ratio, frequencies and simple percentages. The result of the study showed that 70.0% had the knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding, 54.4% exclusively breastfed their newborns for the first six months of life. There was positive attitude among the participants towards exclusive breastfeeding as 70.0% of them agreed that breast milk alone is sufficient for the baby during the first six months of life. There was high level of knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding among the respondents, almost half of the participants practiced exclusive breastfeeding and relatively all the respondents had positive attitude toward exclusive breastfeeding. However, Illiteracy (60.0%; OR = 1.5) and Culture (66.7%; OR = 2.0) negatively influenced exclusive breastfeeding in the area council. Although, majority of the women in this study had good knowledge and attitude towards Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF), the practice is not high. There is still need for improvement. More awareness on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding must be emphasized in order to increase the knowledge and compliance of the women as only 54.4% actually practiced it. Promotion of EBF should involve programmes that will capture not only nursing mothers and health workers, but other members in the communities, most especially husbands and older women who are involved in child care.
Journal of Biology Agriculture and Healthcare, 2013
Under-5 mortality rates in Nigeria are 75 and 157/1000 live births. Malnutrition and Severe Acute Malnutrition rate accounts for 53% and 12% of under-5 mortality respectively. This paper examines mothers' knowledge and practices of exclusive breast feeding (EBF). The state was stratified into three senatorial districts. Data were sought and obtained through semi-structured interview schedule from 541 mothers of children 0-12months, 19 focus group discussions and 22 key informant interviews techniques were conducted among community dutybearers. The result reveals7.4% mothers practiced EBF with > 78.9% initiating breastfeeding after an hour. 57% admitted colostrum, 9% EBF was observed in the rural and 4.9% in urban communities. Early initiation of breastfeeding was higher in urban than rural communities. Social-cultural beliefs play major roles in hindering exclusive breastfeeding. Enlightenment programmes and establishment of breast feeding support groups were suggested for improving practice of EBF.
International Research Journal of Education and Technology, 2023
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is an important public health strategy for improving children's and mother's health by reducing child morbidity and mortality as well as helping to reduce healthcare costs. It is considered by health experts as one of the major strategies which help the most widely known and effective intervention for preventing early childhood deaths. It is against this background that this study was set to find out how knowledgeable the nursing mother are on the practices with corresponding attitude towards exclusive breast feeding. The cross sectional design was used with the aid of structured questionnaire to elicit information from the target population. A total of 457nursing mothers were purposively sampled and distributed with the structured questionnaire across the three senatorial districts in the state, out of which only 400 questionnaires were returned. Using SPSS package as a statistical tool for analysis, descriptive statistics and One Sample t-test statistics were used to analyse the data. The responses from qualitative data via the use of focus group discussion (FCD) were also analysed using ethnographic method. Deductively, it was found that there was relatively fair knowledge toward exclusive breast feeding, despite been knowledgeable, it was found that nursing mothers have negative attitude toward the practice of exclusive breast feeding. Majority of the nursing women saw no need of practicing EBF. The study also found that there were significantly differences in the use of exclusive breastfeeding among the nursing mothers. That is the old nursing women practice EBF than the young nursing mothers. Base on this, the study therefore recommends among others that there is need to intensify the awareness campaign toward the practice of EBF for a more healthy living of the babies that could go a long way in reducing the cost expenditure on healthcare service.
Abstract This study investigated the exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers in Dutsin-Ma Katsina State, Nigeria following an undesirable rate given to Nigeria on the practice of exclusive breastfeeding before the globe. Descriptive survey design was used in this study. The population of the study was all nursing mothers drawn from eleven political Wards of Dutsin-ma Local Government Area, Katsina State. A sample of 177 nursing mothers was used, using cluster sampling technique. A self-developed questionnaire named EH- QEBF was used, using split-half method for reliability. Graph, Chi-square and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze data collected at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of this study showed that there is significant knowledge, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers in Dutsin-Ma, valued (P=0.001<0.05) and (P=0.001<0.05) respectively. It is recommended that girl-child education should be encouraged the more for a healthy society.
Acta Scientific NUTRITIONAL HEALTH (ISSN:2582-1423), 2021
Background: Breast milk is the natural first food for babies, it provides all the energy and nutrient that the infant needs for primary month of life and it continues to supply up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the year and up to one-third during the second year of life. Hence, exclusive breastfeeding is therefore important in protecting infants from infectious diseases, assist in improving their immune system and also very vital for their general health, growth and developments. Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate into the knowledge, attitude and practice of nursing mothers towards exclusive breastfeeding in Oda, Ondo State. Methodology: A descriptive study was conducted on nursing mothers in Oda Community. Simple random technique was used in selecting the 260 respondents whose consent was sought before administering the questionnaires. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages. Results: The study showed that majority 93.5% of the respondents has heard about exclusive breastfeeding, 89% of them practiced exclusive breastfeeding while 11% practiced mixed feeding. 68% of the respondents says that exclusive breastfeeding protect infants against infection, 27.4% of them believed that it is nutritious to infants and of benefits to both the mother and infants. Conclusion: The study showed high level of knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding among respondents and majority of them practiced exclusive breastfeeding. Recommendation: Exclusive breastfeeding counseling during clinic visit, health education program should be implemented. Keywords: Knowledge; Practice; Nursing Mothers; Exclusive Breastfeeding
American Journal of Nursing Science, 2015
The study was conducted to investigate the factors influencing the practice of exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers in University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. A non-experimental descriptive survey research design was used with a purposive sampling technique. The sample size was 300 nursing mothers. The instrument for data collection was a self developed questionnaire, and chi-square test analysis was used to test the relationship between variables. Majority of the respondents were aged 25 -34. 138 (46%), attended secondary school 91(30.3%), married 192(64%). Result of the hypothesis testing on influence of educational level on practice of exclusive breast feeding, showed a non significant relationship with cal x 2 = 6.61, crit x 2 7.815, df 3, P < 0.05. Further results showed a statistical significant relationship between occupation and practice of exclusive breast feeding with cal x 2 = 9.52, crit x 2 = 5.991, df 2, P < 0.05 marital status and practice of exclusive breastfeeding with cal x 2 = 23.9, crit x 2 = 9.815, df 3, P < 0.05. The study suggests the need for clinical nurses to create awareness on the need for exclusive breastfeeding and the need for provision of crèches in ministries and parastatals for nursing mothers.
Statement of the Problem According to World Bank (2008), the percentage of children under 6 months that were exclusively breast fed in Nigeria was reported to be 17.20% in 2004 and 13.10 % in 2008. This indicates a decline in the practices of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in the urban and rural settings in Nigeria. Also, a recent survey by the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria reveals that 13.1% of Nigerian children under six months are exclusively breastfed. Hence the need to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of breastfeeding among mothers in Nigeria using the rural and urban settings in the Federal Capital Territory as a case study.
International Archives of Medicine, 2015
Background: The World health Organization (WhO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) initiated intensive efforts to transform hospitals into breastfeeding support centers through the Baby Friendly hospital Initiative (BFhI). The study populations in this study were geographically located within the vicinity of a BFhI designated hospital in Lagos, Nigeria. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of exclusive breast feeding among mothers in two semi-urban areas around a BFhI designated hospital. Method: Four hundred self-administered questionnaires were distributed to mothers from two semi urban areas in Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos, Nigeria to ascertain their socio demographic data, knowledge, attitude and practice of exclusive breastfeeding. Approval for the study was granted by the Ethics Committee. The respondents were chosen by simple random sampling. The questions covered socio demographic data, knowledge, attitude and the practice of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). Collected data was analyzed and investigated for statistical associations. Results: The knowledge, attitude and practice of exclusive breastfeeding amongst mothers in the semi urban area of Lagos, Nigeria is statistically significantly affected by their educational level and by their professional level. Those with a higher level of education were more likely to have a correct knowledge (P < 0.05). Religion, educa
Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices on Exclusive Breastfeeding in Adamawa, Nigeria
American Journal of Public Health Research, 2018
Background: Despite the efficacy of the Early Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) approach to child nutrition in reducing child mortality, few nursing mothers in Nigeria are willing to adopt this method of feeding. Objective: This research was therefore undertaken in order to assess the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) on EBF of antenatal clinic attendees in Northeastern Nigeria. Study Design: Cross Sectional Community Survey. Methods: Two hundred and fifty expectant mothers attending the ANC clinical sessions at Specialist Hospital, Yola, Adamawa State, were recruited for this study. The mean age of the women was twenty eight. Data was generated from a corpus consisting of health talks and questionnaires on the respondents' KAP on EBF during these clinical sessions at this health facility. Results: The results of the survey revealed the problems that inhibit or reduce the practice of exclusive breastfeeding to include the following: the assumption that colostrum is stale milk-84%; breast milk lacks sufficient nutrients-approximately 62%; and expressed breast milk is contaminated milk-just under 98%. With respect to the mother's attitude to EBF, 60% believed that this method of feeding would flatten their breasts and 78% that EBF causes respiratory tract infections. Furthermore, over 64% thought that food supplements were ideal for infants and that EBF was suitable only for working mothers. Conclusion: These results clearly demonstrate the lack of awareness and education on EBF. From both a national and international perspectives, poor maternal nutrition, inadequate support from spouses, family and even nurses and doctors are some of the constraints that limit the rate of practicing exclusive breastfeeding. Public health initiatives on the benefits of EBF need to be addressed, particularly at antenatal clinics and also through outreach programs that target mothers in the rural communities who have limited access to health care.