ABSTRACT

Poor feeding practices during the first two years of life have both immediate and long-term consequences. It is estimated that improper feeding of infant leads to about one-third of the cases of malnutrition worldwide. This study was conducted to assess infant feeding practices among mothers in selected communities in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia state. The study was a cross sectional study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 350 mothers with children 0-12 months from 7 communities in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State. Data on the sociodemographic characteristics of the children and mother, breast feeding practices, complementary feeding practices and factors influencing infant feeding practices were collected using a structured and validated questionnaire. IBM SPSS Statistics version 21 was used to analyze the data. Data obtained were described using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The results from the study revealed that most (50%) of the women were 26-35 years old and married. A majority (25.7%) of the women were farmers and did not go past secondary education. Majority (98.6%) of the women breastfeed their baby. Early initiation of breastfeeding was practiced by 86.9% of the mothers however exclusive breastfeeding for six months was practiced by few (18.6%) mothers. Some bad feeding practices were observed such as late initiation of breastfeeding, discarding of colostrum and giving an infant water immediately after birth. Barriers to exclusive breastfeeding include lack of information, difficulty breastfeeding, lack of support from family members and breast abscess among others. The mothers practiced complementary feeding. Most (96.6%) initiated early complementary feeding while a few (3.4%) initiated complementary feeding late. Factor influencing complementary feeding include lack of information, family income, sore nipples, sickness, difficulty coping with work and inadequate milk secretion. Infants in the study were fed rice, bread, water, fluted pumpkin, pawpaw, fish and yam more frequently. This study has demonstrated a sub optimal infant feeding practices in our environment, through poor breastfeeding practices in terms of early initiation of breastfeeding, six months of exclusive breastfeeding, prelacteal feeding and inadequate complementary feeding and has a significant effect on infant and young child survival, growth and development, nutritional status, morbidity and mortality and impend economic development. Hence, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional needs, infants should receive safe and nutritionally adequate complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond.