Complete coverage and covering completely: Breast feeding and complementary feeding: Knowledge, attitude, and practices of mothers

Abstract

There is a discrepancy between knowledge and practices. The exclusive breast feeding rates are far from the ideal and there is a decline of continued breast feeding beyond 15 months. This calls for sustained efforts with the aim - 'cover all and cover completely'. The ideal WHO indicator for exclusive breast feeding should be 'exclusive breastfeeding for first 6 months' which will provide information about the completeness of this ideal practice.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in East Africa: a systematic review

“…Most of the mothers, 72.9%, had initiated breastfeeding within one hour after delivery, this result was not matching the recommendations of WHO and this result was highest with secondary analysis of the WHO Global Survey, 57.6% of mothers initiating breastfeeding within one hour after birth [19]. Our study was lower than the prevalence of other studies conducted in China 93.6% [53] and in India 95% [55]. This value indicates that healthcare providers who care for mothers should increase their efforts to promote EBF and that there is a need for public policies which that ensure the living and working conditions of women are compatible with exclusive breastfeeding.…”

“…According to the source of information about EBF, 67.8% of mothers reported that the main source of information about EBF was the health institutions and mass media (13.1%). This result was higher than the study conducted in India 42.5% of health workers [55], however, our result is not great so there is the need to motivate health professionals to do more education on exclusive breastfeeding. Previous studies demonstrated that motivation by healthcare workers was a stronger predictor to increase knowledge, or change attitudes, and practices favorable to breastfeeding and that for successful initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding; mothers need encouragement and support, not only from their relatives and communities but also from the health system [20,57].…”

Knowledge, attitudes and food practices in caregivers and nutritional status in infants from Ventaquemada, Boyacá, Colombia

“…In the Indian study, only 36.25% of mothers gave exclusive breastfeeding until six months [13], compared to 41% of mothers in Guatemala, these results being lower than the present study which found 51.5%; Higher data were found in advanced studies in Cali, Colombia 66.7% [19], Ghana 66% [20], Girón, Colombia 72% [17]. However, these studies do not reach the goal proposed by the WHO of 85% [11], which makes manifest the need to increase interdisciplinary efforts to reduce the deficiency.…”

“…With regard to positive attitudes, such as the free demand for breast milk, the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding and the ease of breastfeeding, the favorability data obtained in the present study are variable and range from 72 to 93.9 %. Other studies report: a positive attitude towards breastfeeding of 77.5% [13] and in another Colombian study, between 90-97.9% [17]. Favorable attitudes in the preparation and benefits of dietary diversity showed percentages higher than 90% in the caregivers, while in Iran, the favorable attitudes of the caregivers present a variability between 45.2 and 99.8% [18].…”

“…In this study it was emphasized that for 90.9% the exclusive breastfeeding period from birth to 6 months of age matters; 93.9% know the benefits of breastfeeding; moreover, 66.7% know, in addition, the benefits of breastfeeding for the mother. In other studies, it is reported that all mothers know Universidad de Manizales -Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud the concept of exclusive breastfeeding [11]; in India, 92.5% of good knowledge about breastfeeding was reported [13]; In Egypt, knowledge of the benefits of breast milk in protecting children against diseases was significant, while it was known that about 66% of caregivers knew these advantages [14].…”