Abstract
Malnutrition in the child is still a major public health problem in most developing countries such as Burkina Faso. Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices should be influenced by the mother's knowledge and attitude about the subject. We carried out a cross-sectional study in primary health care centers randomly selected. The objectives of our work were to study the mother's knowledge and attitudes about IYCF and analyze associated factors. In total, we surveyed 287 mothers. The average age of mothers was 26.7 years, 71.4% of them were uneducated and 94.5% were unemployed. The average number of gesture among mothers was 3.44. Among mothers, 15% was in underweight and 10.7% was in excess weight. Most mothers (82, 8%) admitted that colostrum has an advantage for the newborn and 87.8% were aware of the proper diet (exclusive breastfeeding) of children under six months of age. Slightly more than half (55%) of mothers had a low level of knowledge about the benefits of breastfeeding. Water supply (p=0.041) and habitat type (p=0.001) were statistically associated with the level of knowledge about the benefits of breastfeeding. About half (54%) of respondents were aware of the recommended delay of breastfeeding initiation in postpartum. Feeding in disease situation was known by the majority of mothers just as breastfeeding at night. About one in five mothers (18.5%) reported that children under six months of age need water supplementation. The discomfort to breastfeed in public was an unusual feeling (6%) and 87, 2% of respondents admitted that breastfeeding should be continued until the age of two years after birth.The level of knowledge of mothers about the advantages of breastfeeding was still low however most of them knew the adequate duration of EBF and the recommended duration of breastfeeding. Attitudes concerning breastfeeding were positives. Targeted interventions on maternal health services and communities could raise the level of knowledge about IYCF particularly on the benefits of EBF.
Highlights
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) during the first six (6) months of life followed by sustained breastfeeding with adequate complementary feeding up to two (2) years or beyond are important prerequisites for better growth, development and optimal child health [1,2]
We found that few mothers (47.1%) had good level of knowledge about the benefits of breastfeeding and 54% knew that baby should be breastfed less than one (1) hour after delivery knew
Our study found that the vast majority of mothers (87.8%) admitted that breastfeeding is the proper feeding for infants less than six months
Summary
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) during the first six (6) months of life followed by sustained breastfeeding with adequate complementary feeding up to two (2) years or beyond are important prerequisites for better growth, development and optimal child health [1,2]. Best practices in infants and young child feeding (IYCF) contribute to reducing the burden of morbidity and mortality associated with acute malnutrition [4], digestive and respiratory infections [6,7,8,9]. They contribute to reducing the risk of chronic and metabolic diseases in adulthood [8, 10,11]. If mothers have adequate information about IYCF, their children could be fed appropriately To this end, communication strategies such as information and awareness are actions to raise knowledge levels and promote attitudes to improve IYCF practices. The results could help health professionals and decision-makers to better refine their interventions
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