MATERNAL KNOWLEDGE AND CHALLENGES IN EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING AND COMPLEMENTARY FEEDING PRACTICES IN CHILDREN SPECIALIST HOSPITAL, ILORIN

Abstract

Breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices play a crucial role in child growth and development, constituting a complex adaptive process for mothers during child feeding. This cross-sectional descriptive research aimed to assess maternal knowledge and c h a l l e n g e s i n e x c l u s i v e b re a s t f e e d i n g a n d complementary feeding practices. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select 150 mothers, using a researcher-designed questionnaire with ve sections (A-E) addressing study objectives. The instrument underwent face and content validity, with a reliability test yielding α = 0.71 through the Crobach Alpha coefcient. Sociodemographically, the majority of respondents fell within the 26 – 30 years age group (52.2%), possessed tertiary education (54%), and were married (96%). The ndings indicated that most respondents were self-employed (77.9%), Moslems (78.8%), and of Yoruba ethnicity (86.7%). Additionally, a signicant proportion had a monthly income exceeding N10,000 (41.6%), with fathers contributing signicantly (66.4%), and had 2-4 children (55%). Regarding knowledge, the study concluded that mothers' understanding of exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding was above average (63.3%), while their practice was rated as average (56%). Challenges in exclusive breastfeeding included stress (79.6%), time consumption (69.9%), sore or painful nipples (75.2%), poor grasp (88.5%), and a lack of support from partners or family members (98.2%). Complementary feeding challenges involved a lack of money to buy food (98.2%), non-availability of food items (96.5%), difculties in food preparation (85.0%), and feeding problems with the child (88.5%). Two hypotheses were tested, revealing no signicant relationship between mothers' parity and the duration of exclusive breastfeeding (p-value = 0.724 > 0.05). However, there was a signicant relationship between mothers' occupation and the lack of money to buy food (p-value = 0.015 < 0.05). Recommendations included instituting health education teaching protocols by nurses to enhance mothers' knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding importance and educating them on various food compositions essential for complementary food.