Breastfeeding Practices Among Infants and Young Children in Bushenyi, Uganda: Influence of Maternal Knowledge and Occupation

Abstract

Breastfeeding has proven to be a reference standard for infants' and young children nutrition worldwide.Improvement of breastfeeding rates is important if lives of under-five age children are to be saved yearly. In Uganda, malnutrition remains a serious health problem contributing significantly to both infant and child mortality and this has been attributed to low levels of breast feeding practices. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of knowledge and occupation of mothers on breastfeeding practices of infants and young children in Bushenyi, Uganda. A heath facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among lactating mothers who attended Kyabugimbi health center IV, Ishaka Adventist Hospital and Kampala International University-Teaching Hospital (KIU-TH). Data was collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire from 346 participants. Majority (87.6%) of the participants had knowledge of the right time to initiate breast milk, majority (87.3%) and (93.9%) had good knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding duration respectively. Majority (87.6%) of the mothers initiated breast milk within 1 hour of child birth. Only 31.9% of children above 6 months were exclusively breastfed. Majority (81.9%) of the mothers practiced complementary breastfeeding for at least 2 years. House wives have 42% [OR: 1.42, 95% (1.31-3.88) x 2 =0.79] higher odds to practice breastfeeding while mothers whose occupation is studentship have 2 times [OR: 2.04, 95% (1.31-3.88) x 2 =1.767] higher odds to practice breastfeeding optimally. Young children in Bushenyi district are at risk of malnutrition and childhood diseases as breastfeeding practices especially exclusive breastfeeding do not meet the national and WHO target and recommendation given that only three in ten children were exclusively breastfed. A combination of rural health outreaches and health education could be a possible option for the improvement of breastfeeding practices in the region.

Feeding practices, prevalence and factors associated with concurrent wasting and stunting (WaSt) among children under five years attending health facilities in Southwestern Uganda

“…The early initiation of breastfeeding was practiced in 85.1% of children. (12,13,18). Our nding is similar to the results reported in other studies.…”

“…In this study, the proportion of infants exclusively breastfed was 64.7%. The Uganda demographic health survey reported a prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding of 66% in 2016, Mbina t al reported a prevalence of 31.9% in 2021 (12,13). Our nding is similar to the national trends in regard to exclusive breastfeeding where it is reported that the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding has remained almost constant over several years since 2000 (13).…”

“…To our knowledge, there is no data on the magnitude of WaSt in other regions of Uganda, including western Uganda. In Bushenyi district, the prevalence of stunting has been reported to be particularly high despite being known as the "food basket of Uganda"; the number of stunted children concurrently wasted has not been documented (12). This study aimed to determine the feeding practices, prevalence and factors associated with WaSt among children under 5 years attending health facilities in Bushenyi district.…”

Maternal and Child-related Factors influencing Breastfeeding Practices among Children 0 to 24 months in Bushenyi district, Uganda

“…Globally, 60% of infant and young child deaths occur due to inappropriate infant feeding practices and infectious diseases, with two-thirds of these deaths attributable to sub-optimal breastfeeding practices [1,2]. Poor nutrition is not always the result of a lack of food, but it can be due to a lack of knowledge about optimal feeding practices, lack of time, and the provision of poor-quality food [3,4].…”

Rate of Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Postpartum Mothers at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital's Postnatal Clinic

“…Breastfeeding is one of the oldest practices recommended by all religions and it is the universally endorsed solution in the prevention of early malnutrition. Breastfeeding is a natural process of infant feeding involving two main methods; exclusive and partial with the latter being the trendiest [2,3]. Full breastfeeding is breastfeeding either exclusive or predominant.…”