Population Services International, No.16, Shwe Gon Taing Street 4, Yangon, Myanmar.
Global Health Group/UCSF Global Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 550 16th Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
Appetite. 2016 Jan 1;96:62-69. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2015.08.044. Epub 2015 Sep 4.
Myanmar has low rates of exclusive breastfeeding despite many decades of efforts to increase this practice. The purpose of this study is to examine the barriers to exclusive breastfeeding and how different household members participate in decision-making.
We conducted semi-structured interviews with mothers with an infant 6-12 months (24), and a subset of their husbands (10) and their mothers/mothers-in-laws (grandmothers) (10) in rural and urban areas of Laputta, Myanmar.
Respondents had high levels of knowledge about exclusive breastfeeding, but low adherence. One of the primary barriers to exclusive breastfeeding was that mothers, husbands, and grandmothers believed that exclusive breastfeeding was not sufficient for babies and solid foods and water were necessary. Water and mashed up rice were commonly introduced before 6 months of age. Mothers also faced barriers to exclusive breastfeeding due to the need to return to work outside the home and health related problems. Other family members provide support for mothers in their breastfeeding, however, most respondents stated that decisions about breastfeeding and child feeding were made by the mother herself.
Mothers in this part of Myanmar know about exclusive breastfeeding, but need more knowledge about its importance and benefits to encourage them to practice it. More information for other family members could improve adherence to exclusive breastfeeding, as family members often provide food to children and support to breastfeeding mothers. Support for mothers to be able to continue breastfeeding once they return to work and in the face of health problems is also important. Finally, additional information about the types of foods that infants need once they cease breastfeeding could improve infant and child health.
尽管缅甸几十年来一直努力提高纯母乳喂养率，但母乳喂养率仍很低。本研究旨在探讨纯母乳喂养的障碍，以及不同家庭成员如何参与决策。
我们在缅甸拉普塔的农村和城市地区，对 6-12 个月大婴儿的母亲（24 人）以及她们的丈夫（10 人）和母亲/岳母（祖母）（10 人）进行了半结构式访谈。
受访者对纯母乳喂养有很高的认识水平，但坚持率低。纯母乳喂养的主要障碍之一是母亲、丈夫和祖母认为纯母乳喂养对婴儿来说不够，固体食物和水是必要的。水和捣碎的米饭在 6 个月前就经常被引入。母亲由于需要外出工作和健康问题，也面临着纯母乳喂养的障碍。其他家庭成员为母亲提供母乳喂养支持，但大多数受访者表示，母乳喂养和儿童喂养的决策由母亲自己做出。
缅甸这一地区的母亲了解纯母乳喂养，但需要更多关于其重要性和益处的知识，以鼓励她们实践。为其他家庭成员提供更多信息可以提高对纯母乳喂养的坚持率，因为家庭成员通常会为孩子提供食物并支持母乳喂养的母亲。支持母亲在返回工作岗位和面对健康问题时能够继续母乳喂养也很重要。最后，关于婴儿停止母乳喂养后所需食物类型的更多信息可以改善婴儿和儿童的健康。
