Problem of Exclusive Breastfeeding Practices Among Teenage Rural Mothers in Selected Agrarian Community in Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

The practice of exclusive breastfeeding among teenage rural mothers is still low despite the associated benefits. This study investigates exclusive breastfeeding practices among teenage rural mothers selected agrarian communities in Southwest Nigeria. Using a concurrent mixed-method approach, a structured questionnaire was administered to 415 breastfeeding mothers. In-depth interviews were also held with breastfeeding mothers (11), nurses (10), and a focus group discussion session with grandmothers. The result reveals that 59.1% and 61.0% of the respondents were between the age range of 17 – 19 with the mean age of 19years and the majority (81.4% and 93.0) were Yoruba in Ogun and Oyo State respectively. The result showed that respondents in both Ogun and Oyo State receive information about exclusive breastfeeding (51.6% and 62.0%) and thus practice it (51.6% and 55.5%). The result showed a moderate level of awareness of breastfeeding (60.9% and 62.0%) among the teenage rural mothers was recorded and above half (51.6% and 55.5%) of the teenage rural mothers reveals that they practice exclusive breastfeeding, the majority (62.2%) of the respondents in Oyo State and almost half (46.9%) of the respondents in Ogun State practiced exclusive breastfeeding for over 8 weeks. Some of the factors influencing the adoption of exclusive breastfeeding were personal determination/experience, encouragement from their mothers, and nurse and midwife advice in the two states sampled. Problems encountered by teenage mothers in the practice of exclusive breastfeeding were maternal health problems, the baby continues to be hungry, fear of addicted to breast milk alone, pains in the breast. T-test result shows that there is a significant difference (t = 93.732) in the problems encountered by teenage rural mothers in the practice of exclusive breastfeeding in the study area. It was concluded that compliance to Exclusive Breastfeeding for six months was still minima in Ogun and Oyo State and still face multiple problems. The study, therefore, recommended that there is an urgent need for policies that will aim at providing acceptable food supplements that could aid the supply of breast milk among postpartum teenage rural mothers, especially those with low socioeconomic status. Keywords: Problems; Breastfeeding practices; Exclusive breastfeeding; teenage mothers; Yoruba people. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/80-11 Publication date: September 30 th 2020