Comparative Study of Breastfeeding Practices for Infants Aged 0 to 6 Months in the Communes of Abobo, Bingerville and Yopougon (Abidjan, Ivory Coast)

Abstract

This work was carried out in the localities of Abobo, Bingerville and Yopougon with the aim of comparing the complexities of exclusive breastfeeding of newborns from birth to 6 months with a view to identifying high frequency difficulties and providing efficient solutions for its implementation. In each of the localities, a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 low-income female households. The survey was conducted from October 2020 to February 2021. After the survey, it was found that the difficulties related to the decline of exclusive breastfeeding are related to the insufficient production of breast milk, the daily occupation of the mother, the precarious health status of the mother. Exclusive breastfeeding ensures the quality and quantity of breast milk to guarantee infant food safety and the competitiveness of breast milk compared to artificial and mixed milk. Availability and use of food plants among breastfeeding mothers through the production of breast milk could be a means of combating acute and chronic malnutrition in young children and very premature babies. Recommendations related to the identified problems will allow first improve the production of breast milk. Secondly, the availability of breast milk for infants could significantly reduce the prevalence of child malnutrition and could constitute an approach to reach the challenges of the WHO and UNICEF; that is to say to feed the newborn from birth until six months only with breast milk, also the possibility of giving breast milk to the young child from six months until thirty months. Good practices of exclusive breastfeeding could contribute to the reduction of child malnutrition and to a lesser degree that of the breastfeeding mother.