Barriers to exclusive breastfeeding among infants aged 0-6 months in Eldoret municipality, Kenya.

OBJECTIVE

Breast milk is the best source of nutrients for young infants. It promotes optimal growth and development. WHO recommends Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 months of life as the best way of feeding an infant. EBF Prevalence in Kenya is low, there is need to find out barriers to EBF, hence the study. The objective of the study was to establish barriers to EBF to 6 months among infants aged 0-6 months.

METHODS

The study was cross-sectional involving 384 mother-infant pair visiting Huruma and West, maternal and child health (MCH) clinics. This study was done in the urban setting of Eldoret. Simple random sampling technique was used to get the desired sample size of 384. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS) version 12.0.

RESULTS

Maternal age was categorized into mothers with; <24 years (n=207, 53.9%), 25-29 years (n=116, 30.2%), 30-35 years (n=35, 9.1%) and >35 years (n=24, 6.3%). Over half (n=198, 51.5%) of infants were female and 48.5%( n= 186) were male. The median and mean age of infants in the study was 2.3 and 2 months respectively. Reported barriers to exclusive breastfeeding included; breast milk unsatisfying to the infant (n=157, 64.4%), insufficient breast milk production (n=35, 14.3%), to improve nutritional status of the infant (n=18, 7.4%), for the infant learns to feed on other foods (n=19, 7.7%) and in order for mothers to resume work (n=15, 6.1%).

CONCLUSION

Barriers to EBF in the study may be attributed to inadequate breastfeeding knowledge among the mothers. This study is important in devising strategies that will increase EBF in the community.