Knowledge and Attitude of Nursing Mothers on Exclusive Breastfeeding in Southwest Nigeria
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Keywords:
Exclusive breastfeeding, EBF practice, Attutide towards EBF, Ogbomoso, NigeriaAbstract
Introduction: The study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of nursing mothers regarding the practice of exclusive breastfeeding in the Ogbomoso community.
Methods: The study involved two hundred and twenty-eight consented breastfeeding mothers who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. A cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted using a validated interviewer-based questionnaire. Multistage sampling technique was used in selecting LGAs and health facilities. Knowledge and attitude questions were assigned 1 and 0 marks for appropriate and inappropriate responses respectively while level of knowledge and attitude were assessed using modified Bloom’s cut-off points. Quantitative analysis was conducted using SPSS version 25. A Chi-square test was conducted to assess the correlation between categorical variables (sociodemographic data, knowledge and attitude). All analyses were done at a 95% confidence interval and a p-value <0.05 was considered significant.
Results: The majority of the participants, 113(54.1%), were between 20 and 29 years. 138(66%) had good knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), 65(31%) had fair knowledge and only 6(3%) had poor knowledge. Also, 153(73.2%) had a positive attitude towards EBF while 56(26.8%) had negative attitude. Varying knowledge levels and attitude shown by mothers towards EBF affected the practice, especially among those having more stressful work schedules amidst other sociodemographic factors thus having limited time and space for breastfeeding.
Conclusion: The study participants had good knowledge about EBF and majority showed positive attitude towards exclusive breastfeeding. Working in government employment or in companies where there is limited time and space for breastfeeding might affect their attitude towards the practice thereby opting for other feeding options. Efforts should therefore be put in place to ensure all nursing mothers embrace EBF.
