Factors Influencing Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Working Mothers At Kangemi Informal Settlement, Nairobi
Abstract
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) of an infant for the first months of life has been scientifically
proven to reduce the likelihood of childhood illnesses such as pneumonia and diarrhoea.
Additionally, EBF has other advantages for the mother and the environment. The study focused
on working mothers who reside in informal settlements and the challenges they face while trying
to practice exclusive breastfeeding or the opportunities they have in their environment. The study
was steered by four objectives with an aim to determine the prevalence of exclusive
breastfeeding among working mothers in the Kangemi informal settlement, establish work
conditions that influence EBF practices among working mothers in informal settlements, and
identify the challenges and opportunities the lactating mothers have related to EBF practice.
The study is hinged on the theories of symbolic interactionism and of reasoned action. It was a
descriptive cross-sectional study. Respondents were identified through consecutive sampling
method, while key informants were purposively selected. Data from the mother-infant pair was
obtained through a structured questionnaire, while data from key informants was obtained
through a key informant guide. Quantitative data was analysed through SPSS software, where
the association between variables was analysed through Pearson chi-square and Fisher‟s exact
test. Qualitative data were analysed by identifying similar responses and merging them to
relatable themes. The study findings show that socio demographic of mothers and infants had a
significant relationship with EBF. Majority of the mothers were knowledgeable about EBF and
its benefits. A significant majority of the respondents reported that work conditions affected their
efforts to breastfeed exclusively. With respect to challenges and opportunities, mothers reported
a dilemma in choosing work or total care for their children. On the other hand, some mothers had
opportunities such as carrying their babies to the work place hence having enough time to
breastfeed. The study recommended more public training and awareness about exclusive
breastfeeding in the visual, print, and social media; regular motivation of community health
volunteers through training and remunerations to reach more mothers in the community, and
recruitment of additional nutrition officers in the facility.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
- Faculty of Arts [606]
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