Abstract
Introduction: Expressed breast milk is the practice of squeezing breast milk for the purpose of further use. Infant and young child feeding is very important in promoting healthy growth and development, particularly during the first two years of child’s life. The awareness of mothers regarding expressed breast milk has a direct impact on the life of infants and feeding practices. The study aimed to find out possible determinants of awareness regarding expressed breast milk among mothers. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 255 mothers from January 2020 to May 2020 by using probability simple random sampling technique. A validated and pre-tested semi-structured interview schedule was used. The data was collected data and analysed. Results: Mean age of mothers was 26 years. 54.1% of the respondents had low awareness regarding expressed breast milk. After adjustment some of the variables such as age of respondents (AOR = 0.03, CI = 0.01 - 0.08, p < 0.001), religion (AOR = 0.36, CI = 0.14 - 0.99, p < 0.001) and educational status of respondents (AOR = 4.40, CI = 1.72 - 11.26, p < 0.001), were significantly associated with level of awareness regarding expressed breast milk. Conclusions: More than half of the mothers had low awareness regarding expressed breast milk. Age of the respondents, religion and educational status were found to be associated factors that influence mother’s awareness regarding expressed breast milk. It is recommended to concerned authority to conduct awareness program regarding expressed breast milk among mothers.
Highlights
Expressed breast milk is the practice of squeezing breast milk for the purpose of further use
It is recommended to concerned authority to conduct awareness program regarding expressed breast milk among mothers
The present study revealed that 77.6% of respondents were aware about importance of expressed breast milk as can be fed in absence of mother which is not consistent to the study conducted in South Arabia which found 66.77% of respondents had correct knowledge regarding importance of expressed breast milk as can be fed in absence of mother.[13]
Summary
Expressed breast milk is the practice of squeezing breast milk for the purpose of further use. The awareness of mothers regarding expressed breast milk has a direct impact on the life of infants and feeding practices. The study aimed to find out possible determinants of awareness regarding expressed breast milk among mothers. Exclusive breast feeding has massive health and socio-economic benefits for child, mothers as well as families.[1,2] Evidence showed that maternal employment is the major cause for the termination of breastfeeding.[3] Breast milk expression is the squeezing of milk from mother’s breasts either by use of hand or with an efficient breast pump, so as to store it for future feeding of the baby.[4] Expressed breast milk is a possible way of feeding child with breast milk in the absence of mother.[5] Breast milk expression is important because the baby can have the benefits of breast milk even if mother is not available all the time. Feeding expressed breast milk is best feeding for infants with feeding difficulty and infants in intensive care units.[6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
