Importance of Exclusive Breastfeeding on the Health of Infant
Chapter One
Objectives of the study
General objective
The main objective of the study is to determine the exclusive breastfeeding and health of infants in Uyo, Nigeria
Specific objectives
- To establish the cultural practices, demographic and socio-economic characteristics of mothers of infants Uyo, Nigeria
- To assess the nutritional status of infants in Uyo,
- To determine the breastfeeding practices on nutritional status of infants in Uyo, Nigeria.
- To establish the relationship between cultural practices and education level of mothers on exclusive breastfeeding practices and health of infants Uyo, Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Overview of exclusive breastfeeding
A woman who has had a baby or babies have been breastfeeding for since the birth of her first baby. Many years ago, breastfeeding, also known as nursing, sucking and lactation, has considered most preferred way for a mother to feed her baby. Accordingly, breast milk is an important food for the survival of the child. In the early 1900s, recognized and safe substitutes for breastfeeding began to emerge. As infant formula became safer, many mothers began to choose bottle-feeding formula over breastfeeding. By the mid-19th century, breastfeeding gradually lost its value and became less popular, and by the 1960s breastfeeding was reported at a low rate. However, in the late 1970s, the rate of breastfeeding began to rise slowly because mothers had access to information on breastfeeding. According to Jasny et al. (2019), women in Morocco affirmed receiving most of their information during pregnancy from friends and relatives, and the minority received their information from community health workers. They reported that community health workers were beneficial in giving facts and clearing doubts.
Breastfeeding is now gaining numerous support and admiration and dissemination of knowledge concerning breast milk and all the associated benefit are important for the wellbeing of the child. Previous studies have proven that breastfeeding provides adequate nutrition for the infant within the first six months. During the growth of the child, breastfeeding remains beneficial to child food alongside adding solid food. Breastfeeding is good for the mother. It helps them to recover from childbirth faster than mothers who refuse to breastfeed or nurse their infant. Additionally, nursing helps to reduce the risk of ovarian and breast cancer. It is also helps decrease the high chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases among women who have had a child, as you grow old.
Benefit of exclusive breastfeeding for infants
According to Jama et al (2020) Breastmilk provides ideal nutrition for infants. For example, it contains vitamins, protein, and fat. In addition, breastmilk contains antibodies which helps fight against bacteria and viruses within infants. Furthermore, it contains everything that the baby needs to grow. Breast milk is digested easily than infant formula. It has been proven that breastfeeding lowers the risk of an infant having asthma (Jama et al, 2020).
Studies have shown that exclusive breastfeeding leads to higher intelligence quotient (IQ) level in infants when growing. The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP 2) revealed that
breastfeeding also plays a major role preventing of sudden infant death syndromes (SIDs). The sudden death of infants is unexplained death for children younger than one-year-old. Even though there is no sure way to prevent it, parents and caregivers can minimize the risk of SIDS. Also, children that are inadequately breastfed stand the risk of having obesity, diabetes, and cancers.
Benefit of exclusive breastfeeding for mothers
Breastfeeding an infant helps to burn additional calories for the mother and further helps accelerate the loss of weight resulting from pregnancy. During the period of breastfeeding hormone, oxytocin is released, that adjusts the uterus to its normal pre-pregnancy status. Exclusive breastfeeding also reduces uterine bleeding after a woman shall have given birth. Furthermore, exclusive breastfeeding lessens the risk of breast and ovarian cancer and does lower the risk of osteoporosis in mothers as well. Exclusive breastfeeding reduces the breading of buying artificial sterilized nipples, worm bottles and measuring formulas. Thus, reducing the extra-economic burdens for the household during breastfeeding. It helps mothers to relax regularly with their new-born as they bond together. A mother who regularly breastfeeds is less likely to develop postpartum depression as compared to mothers who wean early or do not breastfeed at all. However, a mother who experiences postpartum depression early after delivery is more likely to have serious breastfeeding and do so for a shorter period (Lessen et al, 2015).
Trends of exclusive breastfeeding rate
Breastfeeding after birth and exclusive breastfeeding during one to six months of age have so many benefits for the child. Do so have a high impact and low-cost intervention on the well- being of the child. Nevertheless, the global rate of these important activities has had a challenge because of the population-based data to be able to describe the rate of early initiation of breastfeeding within an hour of birth. Breastfeeding exclusively at the 42 days postpartum. There are so many reasons associated with the failure to initiate early breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding (Seidu AA et al, 2020).
Factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding practices
Breastfeeding practices have so many factors that are associated with the first six (6) months of an infant’s life. Past studies have examined the most influential factors that are relative to exclusive breastfeeding. Amongst them are social demographic characteristics, parents’ education levels, living in the rural area of the city have biosocial factors that includes the
available support for breastfeeding. Some of these factors are cultural attitudes and social norms toward breastfeeding, economic factors, and employment law and policy. The influence of all of these factors differs differently from nation to region, over the length of time, and even within a population (Qu et al, 2015).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Study Design
The study employed a cross-section research design and descriptive statistics for analysis. This research design facilitated the collection of data at one point in time (cross-section), then the exploration of data to give frequencies (proportions), the measure of central tendency (mean), and the measure of dispersion (standard deviation). These descriptive statistics addressed the objectives of the study in determining the cultural practices and education level of mothers on exclusive breastfeeding on health of children 0-12 months Uyo, Nigeria.
Study population
Study Population
The study population was mothers with infants residing at Tellewoyan, Malamai and Pentecostal Mission Unlimited (PMU) health facilities Uyo. The target population was 237 mothers of children aged 0 – 12 months who visited at least once of the three health facilities in Uyo.
Sample size determination
Based on the research design, data were collected from a sample of 149 mothers of infants in the Uyo of Akwa Ibom state. The sample size was calculated using a formula by Yamane (1967) as follows
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS
Number of study participants from each Health Facility
A total sample size of 149 patients was randomly sampled in three health facilities as follows; Sixty-three 63 (42%) of the patients were in Tellewoyan Facility, 44 (30%) in PMU Facility while 42 (28%) in Malamai Health Facility (Figure 4.1).
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusions
Exclusive Breastfeeding contributes to health, growth and development of a child. Specifically, it has economic and significant health impact at the household, community, and nation level. Access to, availability and control of accurate and precise information is essential to the infant feeding decision-making process of any mother. Additionally, knowledge of the nutritional status of children aged 0 – 12 months is critical because it provides evidence that policymakers and stakeholders can use to develop interventions that could increase food consumption among young children. However, exclusive breastfeeding continues to encounter enormous challengers including cultural practices and lack of knowledge amongst mothers. Therefore, this study determines the exclusive breastfeeding and health of infants in Uyo, Nigeria. To accomplish the objective, four specific objectives fulfilled: 1) to establish the cultural practices, demographic and socio-economic characteristics of mothers of infants; 2) to assess the nutritional status of infants; 3) to determine the breastfeeding practices on nutritional status of infants, and 4) to establish the relationship between cultural practices and education level of mothers on exclusive breastfeeding practices and health of infants. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to collect data from 149 mothers of children aged 0 – 12 months in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. Descriptive statistics were used to access the cultural practices, demographic and social characteristics of mothers; nutrition status and breastfeeding practices on nutritional status of children aged 0 – 12 months. Additionally, Binary Logistics regression model were employed for data analysis.
The results from the study show that about 42 percent of the mothers visited the Tellewoyan Hospital. On average, households had about 4.4 members. The predominant occupation and sources of income for households were business and farming where majority of the households owned land for food production. About one-third of the household heads completed secondary education while 18% completed some primary education and university education, respectively. Additionally, about 36.2% of the mothers completed some primary education and 28.4% completed some primary education. Mothers aged between 18 – 40 years and the mean age was 29.7 years. The average age of children age 0-12 months was 7.8 months. Majority of the children between 0 to 12 months ate food and snacks three times other than liquids, consumed Iron-rich or Iron-fortified foods, and are fed with food to which powder or sprinkles have been added. Also, cultures or communities do not prohibit a particular food for infants.
However, mothers do not allow complements towards their new born. Mothers preferred to remove the umbilical cord and bath their child in a period of one week. They also believed that the placenta and the umbilical cord should be buried. Mothers believes that one needs to wash the breast after sweating before breastfeeding an infant.
The study also revealed that mothers get information on breastfeeding and nutrition from health care workers, Mass Media, and clinics. Fathers as compared to mothers did not influence when a child is first introduced to breastfeeding. On the age when babies should start eating food in addition to breast milk, mothers recommended the 7th month. Surprisingly, almost all children under study were stunted, of the children had a moderate wasting status and were moderately underweight of children 0 to 12 months children had a severe wasting status and were severely underweight. On severe wasting and underweight status, the statistics were alarming and require redress for Uyo, Nigeria. From the logistic regression model, it was revealed that breastfeeding practices in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state are influenced by level of education of mothers and cultural practices. Education of women had positive effect on exclusive breastfeeding while cultural practices had a negative effect on exclusive breastfeeding.
Recommendations
That government and partners provide maternal and nutrition education for mothers of children aged 0 – 12 months at both the community and health facility levels in Uyo. Doing so will help shrink the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight among children aged between 0-12 months.
Also, there is need for other stakeholders including ministry of education considering incorporating nutritional education in institutions of learning to enhance capacity as well as competency among persons relaying information about breastfeeding and nutrition to mothers. Correspondingly, more clinics must form education programs on feeding infants where women can be educated on various nutrients for the children’s healthy growth. These programs can be set up during pregnancy clinics and post-partum visits to ensure that they are informed in time and children born underweight can be helped in time.
Given that education of mothers had positive effect on breastfeeding practices there is need for policymakers to place emphasis on educating childbearing women especially in rural areas to ensure that breastfeeding and other nutritional practices for children are taken seriously with concern for their health and wellbeing. They should be told that exclusive breastfeeding is to be prioritized for the first six months to ensure that the child is fed better. Exclusive feeding has been highlighted to reduce the cases of poor feeding and healthy eating habits as the children grow.
The logistics regression results also show that cultural practices had a negative effect of exclusive breastfeeding. While it is true that cultural practices are way of life for most people in the rural areas, it is imperative that health practitioners and other stakeholders in health and nutrition formulate methods that will influence mothers to adopt exclusive breastfeeding without affecting their cultural practices immediately but in the long term. By doing so, exclusive breastfeeding among rural populations will increase while cultural practiceswill decline.
CHWs played a key role in transmitting nutrition knowledge within the community. However, there is need to assess their nutrition competences, since, there are still deep- seated cultural challenges within the community.
Lastly, more funding by both government and non-governmental organizations should be directed towards demystifying the specific cultural practices that detract the gains made on exclusive breastfeeding among women.
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