Assessment of Exclusive Breastfeeding Knowledge and Practice among Mothers Attending Antenatal Clinic of a General Hospital in Lagos State

Abstract

Background: Knowledge and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among women are essential when promoting an optimal breastfeeding practices among nursing mothers. Objectives: This study assessed exclusive breastfeeding knowledge and practice among mothers attending antenatal clinic of general hospital, Ifako Ijaiye, Lagos State.  Methods: Systematic random sampling was used to select the nursing mothers (n=114).Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect information on socioeconomic characteristics and practice of exclusive breastfeeding while 20-point scale standardized general nutritional knowledge structured questionnaires were used to assess the nutritional knowledge. Statistical Package for Social Science was used to analyze the data and set at p<0.05. Results: Majority of the respondents were graduates. Exactly 48.6% of the mothers had good knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding, 43.9% had average knowledge while 7.8% had poor knowledge. Also,70% of mothers initiated breastfeeding less than one hour after birth,58.3% practised bottle feeding  during the first six months of breastfeeding,76.7% practised exclusive breastfeeding for the first four months of life indicating a gap between knowledge and practice .Also, there is association between maternal education, income, exclusive breastfeeding knowledge and practices. Conclusions: Almost all the mothers were knowledgeable about exclusive breastfeeding but it does not translate to equal level of practice. So, health workers should emphasize the importance of exclusive breastfeeding practices at the various antenatal clinics of Lagos State Hospitals and all over Nigeria

Keywords: Exclusive breastfeeding, breastfeeding practices, antennal clinic