Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitudes of mothers of children aged 0 to 23 months towards exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in public health facilities in Lome, Togo. A cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study was carried out over a period of two months among the target group who brought their children for consultation in the growth monitoring and promotion of health care Centre in Lome. The study involved 417 mostly primigravida and primiparous mothers averaging 28.4 ± 0.3 years old. Among these mothers 89.7% attended school and 99.2% had at least one antenatal visit. The most common sources of maternal awareness of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) were the services of expanded programme for immunization, EPI (62.6%), antenatal care (58.5%), and growth monitoring and promotion (53.7%). The majority (82%) of mothers agreed that EBF is feasible. However, only 43.9% and 19.7% of these mothers have a good knowledge of both benefits of EBF for the baby and the mother, respectively. Levels of mother’s knowledge of the benefits of AME for mother and baby are dependent on sensitization by health workers (<i>P</i> = 0.0001) and mass medium (<i>P</i> = 0.036).
Highlights
In developing countries, breastfeeding remains an absolute imperative because of the safety it provides in the prevention of respiratory and digestive infections and its role in meeting the nutritional needs of the child [1, 2]
Central African Journal of Public Health 2020; 6(2): 66-72 in 2014 revealed that in the greater Lome agglomeration, the median duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 2.9 months and the prevalence of EBF up to 6 months was 54.4% [4, 5]. These low rates could be the result of women not understanding information received during sensitization and socio-economic environments favoring inappropriate practices, including social norms, barriers related to health services and employment, and advertising of breast milk substitutes (BMS) [6,7,8]
The results of the study revealed that the average age of mothers was 28.4 ± 0.3 years which is higher than those found by Djadou (27.5 years) in Tchaoudjo district of Togo and by Siri (26.7 years ± 6.4) in rural areas in the Ouargaye district of Burkina Faso [11, 12]
Summary
In developing countries, breastfeeding remains an absolute imperative because of the safety it provides in the prevention of respiratory and digestive infections and its role in meeting the nutritional needs of the child [1, 2]. Central African Journal of Public Health 2020; 6(2): 66-72 in 2014 revealed that in the greater Lome agglomeration (municipality of Lome and the urban areas of the Golfe prefecture), the median duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 2.9 months and the prevalence of EBF up to 6 months was 54.4% [4, 5] These low rates could be the result of women not understanding information received during sensitization and socio-economic environments favoring inappropriate practices, including social norms, barriers related to health services and employment, and advertising of breast milk substitutes (BMS) [6,7,8]. The present study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude of mothers of children aged 0 to 23 months on exclusive breastfeeding in public health facilities in the municipality of Lomé
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