Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Exclusive Breastfeeding among Lactating Mothers, Mizan Aman Town, Southwestern Ethiopia: Descriptive Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is the best nutrition for children during the first six months of life. However EBF remains a challenge. The aim of the study was to assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards EBF among breastfeeding mothers in Mizan Aman town, South West Ethiopia. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 mothers in Mizan Aman town, South West Ethiopia, in April 2015 using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire using 'recall since birth' method. Systematic random sampling was used to select the study participants and descriptive statistics were conducted. Results: Three hundred and fourteen breastfeeding mothers with their index child less than 2 years were enrolled. Even though 93.6 % of study participants had heard about EBF, only 34.7 % were knowledgeable about the recommended duration. About 89.5 % had a positive attitude, but only 59.3 % believed that only EBF is enough for child up to six months and 26.4 % of children were exclusively breastfed for six months. Conclusion: The majority of mothers knew about EBF and had a positive attitude towards EBF but did not know the recommended duration or that EBF is sufficient for six months. We suggest improving access to information about recommended infant feeding guidelines and fulfilling the minimum enabling conditions.

Knowledge and Attitude towards Exclusive Breast Feeding among Mothers Attending Antenatal and Immunization Clinic at Dabat Health Center, Northwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Institution Based Study

“…In the current study, the knowledge of initiation of breast feeding is 70% which is less than that from a study conducted in Mizan Aman town of Ethiopia that was 73.3% [8] while it is much higher than that in a study conducted in Odisha which was 52.78% [14] as well as Tanzania which was 58.8% [15]. The above dissimilarities may be due to the differences of sample sizes and health care delivery systems.…”

“…This is more than the study conducted in Mizan Aman town, Southwestern Ethiopia, which was 62.7%, while it is much less than the study conducted in Kigali, Rwanda, that was 74.4 [8, 16]. And from this study, 29.4% mothers stated that babies before 6 months should receive BM and sugar.…”

“…The finding is slightly greater than reports done in Rwanda, Kigali, which was 71.1% [16] and in Jima town in Ethiopia that was 73.9% [17]. However, the finding was less than a study result made in Nigeria, which is 84.7%, and Mizan Aman town, which is 89.5% in Ethiopia [8]. The disagreement among these study results might be attributed to these dissimilarities due to the differences of study settings.…”

“…Exclusive breast feeding protected against serious morbidities in the first six months of life [6]. Research conducted at Ibadan, Nigeria, revealed that prevalence of mothers' knowledge towards EBF is still low, which accounts for about 36.2% and the same thing is true in Ethiopia, where it accounts for about 34.7% [7, 8]. Even though many researches are done about mother's knowledge and attitude towards exclusive breast feeding in many areas of Ethiopia, no research is done about it in and around Dabat Health Center.…”

Timely initiation of breastfeeding and associated factors among mothers who have infants less than six months of age in Gunchire Town, Southern Ethiopia 2019

“…The inding of the study was compared with studies done in Sri Lanka (83.3%), urban dwellers in Western Ethiopia (88.5%) and Dale woreda south of Ethiopia (83.7%) [15][16][17]. Slightly higher than the prevalence of timely starting of breastfeeding in Ethiopia (73%) EDHS 2016 [13].…”