COMPARATIVE EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES AMONG BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS AT SULEJA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among primiparous and multiparous mothers attending antenatal care at General Hospital, Suleja, Niger State, Nigeria. Data on maternal knowledge, attitude and practices on exclusive breastfeeding was collected through structured administered questionnaires for a total of 320 mothers; primiparous (n = 120) and multiparous (n = 200) with mothers between the ages of 18 and 56 were selected using random sampling technique. Chi‑squared test was used for primiparous and multiparous mothers’ comparisons. The results revealed that majority (89.2% and 29.5%) of primiparous and multiparous mother were between the age of 18 – 25 and 33 – 40 years, both the participants agreed that breastfed babies are healthier than non-breastfed babies (p < 0.05). The result also revealed that 107 (89.2%) of the primiparous and 130 (65.0%) of multiparous mothers had at least fair knowledge of breastfeeding. The result shows that 115 (95.8%) of the primiparous and 179 (89.5%) of multiparous mother had good breastfeeding practice with (p < 0.05) significant relationship; the overall attitude towards breastfeeding was 117 (97.5%) and 197 (98.5%) of the primiparous and multiparous mothers with no significance relationship (p > 0.05) that exist between them. The result indicated a strong (p < 0.05) relationship between the age, educational level and occupation of the primiparous and multiparous mothers while no (p > 0.05) relationship between marital status of the participants. Interventions to promote exclusive breastfeeding should be tailored different to primiparous and multiparous mother. The study will be significant for behavioural modification; government and nongovernmental agencies should focus on programs that improve the attitude and practice of breastfeeding.