Knowledge, Attitude And Practice Of Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Nursing Mothers in Ihitte/Uboma L.G.A Imo State.:- Tchike, Augusta C

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers in Ihitte/Uboma local Government Area of Imo State Nigeria.A total of 249 respondents were selected and used for this study. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on their socioeconomic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and practice of breastfeeding. Data obtained were presented using descriptive statistics with SPSS software version 20.0. Result showed that 50.2% were within the age of 26-33 years, 97.2% were married, 40.2% were three in their households, 83.5% were graduates, 40.1% were traders and 40.2% of their Husbands were businessmen. Similarly, 60.2% earned N18, 000 - N25, 000. With regards to their knowledge, 65.9% had good knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding while 4.8% had poor knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding while only 40.2% had positive attitude towards it Majority (83.9%) ofthe women gave colostrum to their babies. All the socioeconomic variables such as age of mothers, family size, and educational level, occupation ofmothers and family income significantly determined their knowledge and 59.8% had negative attitude towards breastfeeding. Result shows that about 49.8% ofthe women did not practice exclusive breastfeeding. This study revealed that the women had good knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding while they had negative attitudes. Therefore their attitudes should be improved in order to practice exclusive breastfeeding for optimum physical and mental development ofthe children..