Abstract
There is paucity of reports on breastfeeding practices among nursing mothers in Makurdi, Benue state. The study was aimed at determining the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and associated factors among mothers of infants aged 0-6months attending Child Welfare Clinics in Makurdi, Benue state. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 mothers of children aged 0-6months attending under-five clinics in Makurdi. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 20. The mean age of the infants was 3.06 months ± 2.2months. Majority of the mothers 292(97.3%) were currently breastfeeding, but less than half of the mothers 141(47.0%) were exclusively breastfeeding. Among mothers that were not practicing exclusive breastfeeding, 103(64.8%) gave water, 68(42.8%) administered soft drink, 54(34.0%) gave infant formula, 11(6.9%) gave custard, while 17(10.7%) administered yam porridge, tea, fruit juice or liquid milk. Mothers who had one or more previous pregnancies and mothers of babies aged 0-1month were more likely to practice EBF. Even though the exclusive breastfeeding prevalence reported in this study is above the national figure, it is however less than the World Health Organization target for infants that are six months and below. Efforts should be intensified to sustain this giant stride with the hope of improving on it through public awareness on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding.
Highlights
Nutrition especially at the early stages of life has continued to attract global attention
The overwhelming benefits of exclusive breastfeeding to the infants, mothers and the environment have been established in many research publications.[4,5,6]
Even though women in Benue State of Nigeria are known to have high breastfeeding culture as seen in the current study, this has not translated into practicing appropriate breastfeeding as recommended by WHO, UNICEF and other promoters of exclusive breastfeeding across the globe
Summary
Nutrition especially at the early stages of life has continued to attract global attention. The overwhelming benefits of exclusive breastfeeding to the infants, mothers and the environment have been established in many research publications.[4,5,6] For instance, it has been shown to be a cornerstone of child survival and child health because it provides essential, irreplaceable nutrition for a child’s growth and development. It serves as a child’s first immunization - providing protection from respiratory infections[7], diarrhoeal disease, and other potentially life-threatening ailments.
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