21
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Knowledge, beliefs, and practices regarding exclusive breastfeeding of infants younger than 6 months in Mozambique: a qualitative study.

      Journal of human lactation : official journal of International Lactation Consultant Association
      Adult, Breast Feeding, epidemiology, psychology, statistics & numerical data, Female, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Health Promotion, organization & administration, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Mothers, Mozambique, Rural Health, Social Support

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPubMed
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Only 37% of infants younger than 6 months in Mozambique are exclusively breastfed. A qualitative assessment was undertaken to identify the knowledge, beliefs, and practices around exclusive breastfeeding--specifically, those of mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and nurses--and to identify the support networks. Results show many barriers. In addition to receiving breast milk, infants receive water, traditional medicines, and porridges before 6 months of age. Many mothers had heard of the recommendation to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months. However, other family decision makers had heard less about exclusive breastfeeding, and many expressed doubts about its feasibility. Some of them expressed willingness to support exclusive breastfeeding if they were informed by health workers. Nurses know the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding and pass this information on verbally but have insufficient counseling skills. Interventions to improve exclusive breastfeeding should target family and community members and include training of health workers in counseling to resolve breastfeeding problems.

          Related collections

          Author and article information

          Comments

          Comment on this article