Mothers Beliefs and Obstacles as Limitations in Promoting Exclusive Breastfeeding among Working Class Mothers Attending Infant Welfare Clinic at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu State

Abstract

Objective: The research was designed to ascertain information on the mothers' beliefs and obstacles as limitations in promoting exclusive breastfeeding among the working class mothers aimed to: (1) to determine the rate of promotion of the awareness on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, (2) to determine the obstacles or barriers to the practice of exclusive breastfeeding, (3) to determine the percentage level of working class who practice exclusive breastfeeding, (4) to assess the nutritional knowledge and beliefs of working class mothers about exclusive breastfeeding and (5) to find out the level to which the practice of exclusive breast feeding influences the working class. Methodology: This survey study was carried out on 60 respondents which compromised of registered working class mothers attending the Infant Welfare Clinic at the Institute of Child Health, UNTH, Enugu. Structured and validated questionnaire were used to obtain information from the subjects on their socioeconomic background, baby's information, promotion of exclusive breastfeeding and obstacles to exclusive breastfeeding. Data obtained from the subjects were analyzed using SPSS version 16 to determine their frequency and percentages. Result: Result showed that 91.7% of the mothers had knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding which they individually came across at different times in their lives. A small number of the mothers 38.3% practiced exclusive breastfeeding which was found to be influenced by their level of education, antenatal clinic attendance and personal conviction. 35% of them initiated breastfeeding within 30 minutes of delivery. It was observed that majority of the mothers, 80% of them do not express their breast milk. Apparently 85% of the mothers are agreed to the numerous benefits of exclusive breastfeeding. 81.7% of the mothers are of the opinion that the presence and availability of hygienic crèche in their offices will reduce the obstacles to exclusive breast feeding. The main obstacle to exclusive breastfeeding identified was absence and unavailability of hygienic crèche in office environments, followed by breast and nipple problems, perceived milk insufficiency, pressure from family and sometimes the effect of drugs taken while breastfeeding. Conclusion: Educational programme on exclusive and optimal breastfeeding should be strengthened and mothers enlightened on its importance. Therefore more behavioural changes and communication should be made to promote, protect and support exclusive breast feeding.

Exclusive breastfeeding among city-dwelling professional working mothers in Ghana

“…Afrose et al showed that most working mothers who received their main source of information from nurses and other health workers (75 %) were not EBF. Data from work done by Anyanwu and Maduforo in 2004 [28] in a neighboring country, and others [29] concur that the main source of education about breastfeeding provided to working mothers is the health worker, although determinants of EBF among working mothers include the women’s educational status and working conditions [30, 31]. Februhartanty and colleagues presented data similar to those of the current study [30].…”

Breastfeeding Pattern and its Associated Factors Among Mothers Working at Two Hospitals in Kathmandu

“…The health workers are also the main human resources who disseminate information about breastfeeding and their breastfeeding practices could be the ideal behaviour which many other women in the community would like to follow. 5,6 Moreover, hospital professionals are more likely to disseminate their knowledge and practices to others successfully if they themselves could follow recommended breastfeeding practices. However, breastfeeding practices of a these women are likely to be modified by the facilities and support that they receive at the hospital which in the present context is suboptimal in almost all hospitals of Nepal.…”

The Burden of Motherhood: An Assessment of Government Policy Towards Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Working Mothers in Nigeria

“…Despite the limited acknowledgement of working mothers in the National Policy on Infant and Young Child Feeding in Nigeria (2010), the policy advocates for the provision of an enabling environment which promotes breastfeeding space within the workplace (FMoH, 2010, p. 4). However, working mothers in Nigeria lack breastfeeding space at their workplace (Okwy-Nweke et al, 2014) attributable to the lack of penalty for defaulters -that is the employers (ILO, 2012). Hence, like mothers in Pakistan, working mothers in Nigeria have to travel a considerably long distance to the crèche to nurse the infant (Zafar & Bustamante-Gavino, 2008).…”