What health service support do families need for optimal breastfeeding? An in-depth exploration of young infant feeding practices in Cambodia

Abstract

BackgroundAppropriate and timely breastfeeding practices markedly improve lifelong health outcomes for newborns, children, and mothers. Exclusive breastfeeding is reported to be widely practiced in Cambodia, and important progress has been made toward achieving improved child health outcomes, but newborn mortality has been slow to reduce and breastfeeding practices remain suboptimal.MethodsFormative research was conducted in Takeo province, Cambodia to describe the practical, cultural, and social factors underlying current breastfeeding behaviors to inform the design of a newborn survival intervention that may improve breastfeeding. In-depth interviews, observations, a collection of visual media, and focus groups were employed to gather qualitative data.ResultsThe results revealed knowledge and practice gaps in behavior that likely contribute to breastfeeding barriers, particularly in the areas of infant latch, milk production, feeding frequency, and the use of breast milk substitutes. The predominant theme identified in the research was a dearth of detailed information, advice, and counseling for mothers beyond the message to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months.ConclusionFuture newborn survival interventions and postnatal care counseling in this area must go beyond the exclusive breastfeeding message. To achieve further impact, it will be necessary to disseminate comprehensive and locally appropriate information on breastfeeding and to improve counseling in order to support successful breastfeeding and to contribute to population-level health gains.

Predictors of breast milk substitute feeding among newborns in delivery facilities in urban Cambodia and Nepal

“…No significant effect was observed in Phnom Penh, though many more mothers reported having received such information. Quality and specificity of antenatal breastfeeding education were not evaluated in this study but could have been a limiting factor in Phnom Penh; content gaps in breastfeeding messages and support elsewhere in Cambodia have been suggested as a barrier to successful breastfeeding (Bazzano, Oberhelman, Storck Potts, Taub, & Chivorn, ).…”

Newborn Care in the Home and Health Facility: Formative Findings for Intervention Research in Cambodia

“…The UNICEF Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Training Course indicates that facility staff need to go beyond verbally advising women to breastfeed in order to provide lactation support, and this issue has been detailed in another study [34,35]. …”

A cross‐sectional mixed study of the opportunity to improve maternal postpartum care in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services in the Kaya health district of Burkina Faso

“…Indeed, community involvement, and using the community to increase awareness, is part of the MOMI project in Burkina [13]. Communities should be mobilized for postpartum service utilization [10] through messages [41] targeted to population (women, men, leaders), places (health facilities, communities, households), and actors (FHWs, CHWs, TBAs, peers).…”