Exclusive Breastfeeding among Postnatal Mothers of Infants Aged between 0 to 12 months at the University of Cape Coast Hospital, Central Region, Ghana, June, 2019.
Loading...
Date
JUNE, 2019
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Exclusive breastfeeding is defined as giving only breast milk to babies, no other liquids or solids are given with the exception of oral rehydration solution, drops or syrups of vitamins, minerals or medicines. WHO recommends that its practiced for the first 6 months of life of every baby.The study assessed the perception of postnatal mothers of infants aged 0 to 12 months on exclusive breastfeeding at the University Of Cape Coast Hospital, Central Region, Ghana.
METHODS
The study was quantitative using descriptive cross-sectional study design. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 200 post- natal mothers of infants aged between 0 and 12 months at the University of Cape Coast Hospital. Data were entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 for Windows and presented using frequencies, percentages and tables.
RESULTS
Majority of the mothers (90.5%) responded to have heard about exclusive breastfeeding while only 76.0% understood what it actually meant. Majority of the respondents (82.9%) believed exclusive breastfeeding was good, 3.6% of them believed it was a bad practice and the remaining 13.5% of them remained neutral. Some challenges to EBF included; insufficient breast milk (29.2%) and sore nipples (31.7%). Finally, majority of the mothers (87.6%) acquired knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding through antenatal clinic attendance.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Majority of mothers had heard about exclusive breastfeeding through antenatal clinic. However, not all of them understood what it meant. Therefore, healthcare providers through antenatal clinics should educate the mothers on importance of EBF to the mother and baby.
Description
A dissertation presented to the Department of Community Health, School of Medical Sciences, the College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in partial fulfilment of MBCHB degree.
Keywords
Breastfeeding, Postnatal Mothers, Infants Aged, Cape Coast