Abstract
Background: The importance of healthcare workers' guidance for women infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) regarding infant feeding practices cannot be overemphasised.Objective: To determine the knowledge, opinions and practices of healthcare workers in maternity wards in a regional hospital in Bloemfontein, Free State Province, South Africa, regarding infant feeding in the context of HIV.Methods: For this descriptive cross-sectional study, all the healthcare workers in the maternity wards of Pelonomi Regional Hospital who voluntarily gave their consent during the scheduled meetings (n = 64), were enrolled and handed over the self-administered questionnaires.Results: Only 14% of the respondents considered themselves to be experts in HIV and infant feeding. Approximately 97% felt that breastfeeding was an excellent feeding choice provided proper guidelines were followed. However, 10% indicated that formula feeding is the safest feeding option. 45% stated that heat-treated breast milk is a good infant feeding option; however, 29% considered it a good infant feeding option but it requires too much work. Only 6% could comprehensively explain the term “exclusive breastfeeding” as per World Health Organisation (WHO) definition. Confusion existed regarding the period for which an infant could be breastfed according to the newest WHO guidelines, with only 26% providing the correct answer. Twenty per cent reported that no risk exists for HIV transmission via breastfeeding if all the necessary guidelines are followed.Conclusion: Healthcare workers' knowledge did not conform favourably with the current WHO guidelines. These healthcare workers were actively involved in the care of patients in the maternity wards where HIV-infected mothers regularly seek counselling on infant feeding matters.
Highlights
A central role of healthcare workers is to provide effective counselling to their patients
Confusion existed when they were asked to indicate for which time period a mother can breastfeed in total, which includes breastfeeding exclusively plus non-exclusively according to the new 2010 World Health Organisation (WHO) Guidelines on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Infant Feeding (WHO, 2010a)
According to the third principle of the 2010 WHO Guidelines on HIV and Infant Feeding, national health authorities should decide on a strategy where health services will principally counsel and support HIV-infected mothers to either breastfeed their infants together with anti-retroviral (ARV) interventions, or to avoid all breastfeeding (WHO, 2010a)
Summary
A central role of healthcare workers is to provide effective counselling to their patients. Healthcare workers counselling HIV-infected mothers about infant feeding can play a major role in the outcome of the choice of feeding. Healthcare workers' inadequate knowledge regarding the newest guidelines for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can negatively impact the knowledge and practices of their patients (Vallely et al 2013) to the detriment of the health of the infant. Objective: To determine the knowledge, opinions and practices of healthcare workers in maternity wards in a regional hospital in Bloemfontein, Free State Province, South Africa, regarding infant feeding in the context of HIV. Conclusion: Healthcare workers' knowledge did not conform favourably with the current WHO guidelines These healthcare workers were actively involved in the care of patients in the maternity wards where HIV-infected mothers regularly seek counselling on infant feeding matters
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