Abstract
The impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and will continue to have, on food security and child health is especially concerning. A rapid, Short Message Service (SMS) Maternal and Child Health survey was conducted in South Africa in June 2020 (n = 3140), with a follow-up in July 2020 (n = 2287). This was a national cross-sectional survey conducted among pregnant women and mothers registered with the MomConnect mhealth platform. Logistic regression was conducted to explore the associations between breastfeeding, maternal depressive symptoms, and hunger in the household. High breastfeeding initiation rates and the early introduction of other foods or mixed milk feeding were found. The prevalence of depressive symptoms in this survey sample was 26.95%, but there was no association between breastfeeding behaviour and depressive symptom scores (OR = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.63, 1.27). A positive correlation was found between not breastfeeding and not going to the health clinic. The odds of hungry mothers breastfeeding were significantly lower (OR = 0.66; p = 0.045). This result also holds in a multivariate framework, including covariates such as depressive symptoms, attendance of a PHC facility, and whether the infant was older than 3 months. Support for breastfeeding must include support, such as economic support, for breastfeeding mothers, to enable them to access nutritious diets. Mothers also need reassurance on the quality of their breastmilk and their ability to breastfeed and should be encouraged to continue to attend the health clinic regularly.
Highlights
Improvement of breastfeeding rates remains a key strategy globally to ensure food security and optimal development for the first 6 months of life [1,2]
The respondent’s responses to the question about what worried them most at the moment provided some confirmation of our concern that the pandemic had affected hunger, nutrition, and breastfeeding
Typical responses included the following: ‘I worry about losing my life or my kids due to COVID-19 and not having food in the house, because as a breastfeeding mom I have to eat so that I can produce milk’; ‘I am concerned about going to bed hungry when I
Summary
Improvement of breastfeeding rates remains a key strategy globally to ensure food security and optimal development for the first 6 months of life [1,2]. There has been some progress reported on increased exclusive breastfeeding rates in South Africa, but rates still remain low [3]. Food insecurity, which has declined steadily in South Africa (2002 to 2017) [4], is one of these factors. This study was inspired by this context and the literature on lower breastfeeding rates and earlier cessation of exclusive breastfeeding seen with increased severity of food insecurity experienced by the mother and the household [6,7,8,9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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 callMore From: International journal of environmental research and public health
Disclaimer: 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.
