Prevalence of Exclusive Breastfeeding and the Associated Socio-Cultural Beliefs and Practices among Mothers of Children Aged 0-5 Months in Garissa County, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t4376Abstract
Breastfeeding is a method in which the infant obtains milk from the mother’s breast. On the other hand, exclusive breastfeeding is defined as a way of feeding an infant with just breast milk not even water is allowed, apart from prescribed medicines, immunization, mineral and vitamin supplementation. Breastfeeding exclusively is an important child health and existence intervention that makes it possible to prevent 14% of all < 5 years of age deaths every twelve months and this decode preventing almost 11,000 deaths in Kenya per year. The study aimed to inaugurate the cultural beliefs practices and misconceptions around exclusive breastfeeding. The research was carried out in Garissa County; the County is one of the ASAL counties/areas in Kenya. Simple random sampling was used in selecting the wards and households per village to be visited. The study design was a cross-sectional descriptive investigation conducted among 365 mothers with children under 6 months of age. The study utilized questionnaires and focus group discussion guides as data collection tools, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative data. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22.0. The results indicated that among the infants studied, 51.5% were boys, and 48.4% were girls. Furthermore, approximately 10.3% of the infants were less than a month old, 27.6% were aged 1-2 months, 33.9% were aged 3-4 months, and 27.9% were aged 5-6 months. A significant majority of the mothers, approximately 94%, were married. Additionally, 51.55% of the mothers had received formal education, while 48.4% had not attended school. Among the participating mothers, 88.2% had breastfed their infants in the last 24 hours. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) based on 24-hour recall was 50.8%. Nearly half of the mothers had supplemented their infants' diets with other foods or fluids at the time of the study. Approximately 80% of the mothers demonstrated knowledge about breastfeeding. The study established a significant relationship between social-cultural beliefs and breastfeeding practices (p=0.005). In conclusion, the study found that cultural and social beliefs in Garissa County had a substantial influence on breastfeeding practices. Consequently, it is recommended that both governmental and private organizations design and implement behavior change interventions aimed at improving breastfeeding practices. Furthermore, community involvement in nutrition interventions should be emphasized to promote optimal breastfeeding.
Keywords: Exclusive breastfeeding, prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding, culture, Somali women, misconceptions
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