Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards breast feeding among mothers attending under- five clinic at chipokota mayamba urban clinic in Ndola , Zambia
Journal Title: Asian Pacific Journal of Health Sciences - Year 2017, Vol 4, Issue 3
Abstract
Background: Exclusive breast feeding (EBF) is the best nutrition for babies during the first six months of life, thus it is an unrivaled practice of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants. However, providing EBF remains a major challenge in Africa and many other countries worldwide despite implementation of programmes such as the global initiative to increase political commitment and investment towards breastfeeding by WHO and UNICEF. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards EBF among mothers attending under-five clinic at Chipokota Mayamba Clinic in Chifubu, in Ndola Zambia.Method: A cross-section study was conducted in which 400 mothers where recruited using a simple random sampling method. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to the respondents as a data collection tool. Data was first entered in Microsoft® Excel database for storage and was later exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 for analysis. Results: Forty-seven percent (47%) were knowledgeable about the benefits of EBF and fifty three percent (53%) lacked knowledge on EBF. Majority of the respondents were between twenty to twenty nine (20-29) years of age representing fifty eight percent (58%) of the participants while those thirty to thirty nine (30- 39) years of age had fifteen percent (15%) distribution. Those above forty (40) years represented two percent (2%) and twenty five percent (25%) were less than twenty (20) years of age. Fifty-one percent (51%) of the mothers weaned their babies between three to six (3-6) months, thirty three percent (33%) between six and twelve (6-12) months old and lastly sixteen percent (16%) between zero to three (0-3) months of age of the babies. Conclusion: The results from this study indicate that the level of total knowledge score regarding breastfeeding is poor among mothers attending under-five clinic at Chipokota Mayamba clinic. Major concerns are; inadequate knowledge on advantages of breastfeeding, frequency of breastfeeding, and storage of breast milk. The findings showed that limited education was a major factor for lack of knowledge about breastfeeding compared with other factors such as marital status, family income, and age
Authors and Affiliations
Brenda Mkandawire
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP525547
- DOI 10.21276/apjhs.2017.4.3.27
- Views 146
- Downloads 0
Nose and Nasal Architecture: An ethnic variations
Objective: The objective of the study undertaken was to evaluate if geometric and mathematical relationship of Nose and Nasal Architecture of female population of three ethnic groups of Nepal . Methods: Sample consisted...
Pain beliefs and affecting factors of the hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients with hematological cancer
Aim: This descriptive study was conducted to determine the pain beliefs and affecting factors of the cancer patients subjected to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Methods: The sample of the study was 94 hematolog...
Polycystic Kidney Disease – A cause for Low backache
Polycystic kidney disease is one of the common inherited diseases affecting the renal system, though it can be an acquired condition too. It can present as wide variety of symptoms and can also be incidental finding on a...
Metanil yellow: The toxic food colorant
Metanil yellow is a food colorant used extensively in various foods. It is also used as an adulterant in different spices especially turmeric and regular Indian foods like pulses. Metanil yellow belongs to “non‑permitted...
Management of post-extractional alveolar socket with mineralized plasmatic matrix before implant placement: a case report
When activated the platelets release growth factors that play an essential role in bone healing such as Platelet- derived Growth Factor, Transforming Growth Factor-β, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and others. Severa...