Assessment of knowledge, attitude, practice and barriers of exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State
1 Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
2 Department of Internal Medicine University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Akwa Ibo State, Nigeria.
International Journal of Frontiers in Medicine and Surgery Research, 2024, 06(02), 067–074.
Article DOI: 10.53294/ijfmsr.2024.6.2.0042
Publication history:
Received on 15 August 2024; revised on 10 October 2024; accepted on 12 October 2024
Abstract:
Introduction: Over the years, breastfeeding has been a universal means of feeding infants and a common feature of all cultures since the survival of mankind. It is a phenomenon that is deeply rooted in the tradition of human culture. Although, breastfeeding practices have fluctuated over the years, it is widely regarded as an unequalled way of providing ideal nutrition for the healthy growth and development of infants. This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice and some barriers of exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State.
Method: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice and barriers of nursing mothers towards Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF). An interviewer-self-administered pretested questionnaire was used to collect data on maternal knowledge, Attitude, Practice and barriers of EBF. The modified Blooms criteria was adapted to grade knowledge, attitude and practice as either Good or poor. Statistical significance was considered at 95% confidence interval.
Results: The results from this study showed that nursing Mother’s knowledge of EBF was good, 84.0% of the respondents displayed good knowledge of EBF, good attitude towards EBF was at 54.7% and the practice of EBF was 67.3%. Notable barriers to EBF includes, poor knowledge of EBF among nursing mothers (75.0%), followed by concurrent breast disease 6 months post-natal (66.7%), next was women who have never attended Antenatal Care Clinic (ANC) 62.5%.
Conclusion: These findings suggest good knowledge and practice of EBF, however there is need to institute intervening measures aimed at reducing barriers associated with EBF in the study community.
Keywords:
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF); Mothers; Knowledge; Attitude; Practice
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