They looked at 11 measures of child wellbeing, and found essentially no discernible difference between the breastfed and non-breastfed. All of this means that breastfeeding is a way to give children a good start in life.
By providing your email, you agree to the Quartz Privacy Policy. Skip to navigation Skip to content. Discover Membership. Editions Quartz. More from Quartz About Quartz. Follow Quartz. These are some of our most ambitious editorial projects. From our Obsession. Published July 23, This article is more than 2 years old. Sign me up. Update your browser for the best experience. Researchers continued to visit the clinic or hospital or EPIO point for interviews on immunization days until the sample size specifically calculated for the health facility was reached.
The dependent variable was practicing EBF which refers to feeding the baby on breast milk only from birth up to the age of six months.
The independent variables for the study were categorized into maternal factors age, educational level, marital status, health status, knowledge and attitude on EBF, parity, occupation, mode of delivery, HIV status , infant factors age, health status, sex, birthweight, HIV status , household factors income source, residence, housing conditions , environmental factors exposure to media, place of delivery, access to health information , psychosocial and cultural factors beliefs, religion, self-efficacy.
A written consent form was issued to mothers who met the inclusion criteria and only those who consented to participate in the study were interviewed. Caregivers who were not the mother of the baby and mothers who refused to consent for interviews were also excluded from the study. The collected quantitative data were entered and cleaned using Epi Info version 7 before analysis whilst qualitative data was collected from the key informants through use of open-ended questions in the interviewing tool used.
The qualitative data obtained were analyzed according to major themes raised during the interviews. Frequencies, means and percentages were used to describe maternal and infant demographic characteristics, knowledge and attitudes on EBF.
In measuring maternal knowledge, a correct response was awarded a score of one and an incorrect answer a zero out of a total score of five. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analysis were done in order to ascertain the association between the dependent and independent variables.
Multivariate analysis was carried out to measure the strength of interrelationships of several variables at once. Variables such as maternal age, marital status, mode of delivery were inputted simultaneously and compared. A resulting p - value of less than 0. Table 1 shows the maternal sociodemographic characteristics for mothers who participated in the study. Most mothers were married and had one or two children. The majority were educated to secondary school level, were unemployed and resided in rural areas.
The majority Scores on a Likert scale revealed that all interviewed women agreed that breast milk should be the first feed to be given to the baby soon after birth. The Table 2 shows that being a young mother, having one or two children and having a baby of low birthweight was significantly associated with failure to practice whilst mothers with a positive HIV status were more likely to practice EBF.
Table 3 shows that economically independent women were more likely to breastfeed their babies on breast milk only up to the age of six months whilst those who lived in one or two rooms were less likely to practice EBF. Obstetrics and sociocultural factors influencing EBF practice were found not to be significantly associated with the practice as indicated in Table 4.
The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitudes on exclusive breastfeeding in Gwanda District. We also sought to determine the different maternal, infant, household, environmental, psychosocial and cultural factors influencing EBF practice in this district.
The EBF rate we found was higher than studies in Ethiopia Variations in sociodemographic characteristics and cross-cultural preferences may be the cause of differences in the EBF rates. Mothers who had one or two children were less likely to exclusively breastfeed their babies when compared to mothers with three or more children. This finding was consistent with study findings in a Jordan study were they concluded that multi-parity was a major predictor of exclusive breastfeeding [ 23 ].
Being a novice mother was also found out to be a threat to EBF in two studies conducted in Brazil [ 20 , 24 ]. The increase in maternal confidence with several prior pregnancies could be due to previous positive experiences in breastfeeding as well as previous negative outcomes observed with early introduction of complementary foods.
Similarly, a Brazilian study concluded that adolescent mothers were less likely to EBF when compared with older mothers [ 26 ]. Being an older mother comes with previous experience, added conviction and commitment to motherhood hence an increased likelihood to EBF the infant [ 27 ]. Women who lived in fewer rooms one or two were less likely to practice exclusive breastfeeding when compared to those who had and used more than three rooms. Thus, breastfeeding in the presence of the in-laws or any other respected elders can be viewed as contemptuous behavior.
Thus, mothers may not be able to frequently breastfeed in the presence of in-laws or elders due to the limited privacy.
Mothers who were financially independent were more likely to exclusively breastfeed their babies in Gwanda District OR 0. This finding was contrary to studies in which EBF rates were lower among employed mothers when compared to unemployed dependent mothers [ 19 , 29 ]. Dependent women often adhere to family opinions on infant feeding because their in-laws or partners dictate what can be given to the baby thus, it is difficult for them to adhere to EBF principles [ 30 ].
Mothers who knew their positive HIV status revealed urgency in preventing transmission of the virus to the baby, hence EBF uptake was high among HIV positive mothers [ 34 ]. The encouraging uptake or the EBF practice by seropositive mothers shows that the education given to pregnant women by health workers in Gwanda District was consistent with the WHO guidelines.
Our finding was consistent with a study in Binga, Zimbabwe, were mothers gave their young babies plain water with the belief that water would not affect the practice of exclusive breastfeeding [ 36 ]. When approaching EBF related issues, health workers need to take into consideration all the perceived threats, barriers and benefits associated with the complex decision to EBF for six months.
Such an approach has the potential of improving maternal and infant wellbeing in Gwanda District and other similar settings. Collecting data from both facilities and the community resulted in more representative data and the use of trained as well as experienced research assistants helped in preserving the quality of the obtained data whilst ensuring proper ethical standards are followed.
The findings of this study cannot be generalized for Matabeleland South Province as well as other settings because participants were only drawn from Gwanda District. The use of convenience sampling method interfered with the representativeness of the collected data and self-reporting may have introduced recall bias to the study.
The study was also vulnerable to social desirability bias in which some mothers may have felt EBF to be a more socially acceptable hence, felt compelled to respond positively towards EBF practices.
Using the cross-sectional research design made it challenging for the researchers to establish causality. In addressing the multiple factors influencing the cost effective practice, there is need to channel supportive measures through a system wide approach.
Collaborated efforts from both the healthcare sector and society are vital in promoting and sustaining the optimal breastfeeding practice. This has the potential to improve child health and reducing infant morbidity and mortality in Gwanda District. Long-term effects of breastfeeding: a systematic review: World Health Organization; Accessed 17 Dec Accessed 27 August Google Scholar.
Accessed 17 Dec ; Infant and young child feeding guidelines: Indian Pediatr. Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. Article Google Scholar. World Health Organization. New Delhi: Presented at the world breastfeeding conference; London: The Save the Children Fund; Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and associated factors among mothers in rural Bangladesh: a cross sectional study. Int Breastfeed J. Nutrition, health and water and sanitation.
Harare: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency; Zimbabwe National Nutrition Survey To reach their breastfeeding goals, mothers need worksite accommodations and continuity of care through consistent, collaborative and high-quality breastfeeding services. They need the support from their doctors, lactation consultants and counselors, and peer counselors. The CDC Breastfeeding Report Card provides state-by-state data to help public health practitioners, health professionals, community members, childcare providers and family members work together to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
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