ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to assess the factors affecting the practice of exclusive breastfeeding in Aba North Local Government Area of Abia State. All the health centers and hospitals with post-natal clinics in Aba North L.G.A were purposively selected to bring their numbers to eight while a simple random sampling technique was used to select the nursing mothers for the study. Data collection was carried out using a closed ended questionnaire. It was used to collect information on their socio-demographic/economic characteristics, knowledge and practice of mother’s exclusive breastfeeding and challenges of exclusive breastfeeding. Most (60.8%) of the mothers were married, some (24.7%) of them were single while few (6.3%) of the mothers were widows. More than half (53.8%) of the mothers had secondary education, some (24%) of them had tertiary education while few (4.9%) of the mothers had no formal education. More than half (53.8%) of the mothers were privately employed, some (23.3%) of them were publicly employed while few (5.9%) of the mothers were unemployed. Many (65.6%) of the mothers had correct knowledge on the definition of exclusive breastfeeding while some (34.4%) of them had wrong knowledge on the definition of exclusive breastfeeding. Majority (97.2%) of the mothers had wrong knowledge of the first food for new born while few (2.8%) of them had correct knowledge on the first for new born. More than half (53.8%) of the mothers did not exclusive breastfeed  while some (46.2%) of the mothers breastfed exclusively. Less than half (46.2%) of the mothers introduced water and other foods at six months, some (28.1%) of them introduced other food and water immediately after birth. Half (50.7%) of the mothers with poor knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding practiced exclusive breastfeeding, more than half (54.3%) of the mothers who had fair knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding did not practice exclusive breastfeeding while many (63.6%) of the mothers who had good knowledge did not practice exclusive breastfeeding. From the result of this study, there is increased need for enlightenment campaign about benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for mother and child using various languages in order to accommodate women who do not understand English and those with low educational level. Also, breastfeeding counseling during antenatal care should be centered on solving problems associated with breastfeeding.