ABSTRACT

 Breastfeeding is a natural and critical act that provides optimally, the energy and nutrients required to satisfy all the needs of the child during the first half of infancy and' subsequently, providing up to half or more and one third of the child's nutritional and energy needs during the second half of infancy and the second year of life respectively. The study assessed the knowledge, attitude and practices of breastfeeding among nursing mothers in some selected health centers in Owerri municipal. A cross sectional survey was adopted for this study as nursing mothers in the selected health facilities were randomly selected for this study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and practice of breastfeeding and infant breastfeeding pattern. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 27.0.1 was used in this study as only mothers who gave their consent were selected and confidentiality of information was maintained throughout the study period. The result indicated that (70.8%) of the mothers were aged between 21-30 years and (23.1%) attained tertiary education. (32.3%) of the mothers were artisan, while (24.6%) of the mothers were traders. (60.9%) of breastfeeding mothers had good knowledge on breastfeeding, (37.1%) of mothers had average knowledge on breastfeeding, while’ (2.0%) have poor knowledge on breastfeeding. Breastfeeding mothers of (61.85%) had a positive attitude on breastfeeding, (38.15%) of mother had negative attitude towards breastfeeding. (69.6%) give, only breast milk for the first six months of the baby's life, while (4.2%) combine breast feeding and infant formula, (26.2%) combine pap and breast milk, 69.6% of the mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding while 29.3% expressed their breast milk. In view of the findings of this study, there was high awareness of importance of breastfeeding among nursing mothers attending to their infants, the level of knowledge on breastfeeding among the respondents was equally high which could be as a result of the fact that most of the respondents obtained their information on breast feeding from health workers, yet mothers should be well informed about the benefits of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding on the child. Health care providers should be trained on the principles of exclusive breast feeding. Government should also make policies to extend the period of maternity leave from 3 months to 6 months as this will help employed mothers achieve a complete exclusive breastfeeding practices and reduce the problem of child morbidity and mortality in Owerri municipal in particular and Nigeria at large