Akinyinka Modupe Rebekah, Olatona Foluke Adenike, Oluwole Esther Oluwakemi
Department of Community Health and Primary Health Care, Lagos State University College of Medicine, 1-5, Oba Akinjobi Road, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.
University of Lagos College of Medicine, Idi-Araba, Lagos, Nigeria.
Int J MCH AIDS. 2016;5(1):1-13.
Human milk is uniquely superior as a source of nutrition for infants, and breastfeeding has many benefits. This study determined the breastfeeding knowledge and practices of women who have children aged 0-2 years living in a Naval Barracks.
This descriptive cross sectional study was carried out among 220 women in a Naval Barracks selected using systematic random sampling method. Pre tested questionnaires were administered by trained interviewers, and data was analyzed using Epi info 2000 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 19.
There was generally fair knowledge about breastfeeding among the women. Most of the respondents (97.3%) had ever breastfed their babies, 56.5% of them initiated breastfeeding within an hour of delivery, 24.1% admitted that they gave pre lacteal feeds, 74.1% practiced exclusive breastfeeding for a mean period of 4.98 months and 30.7% engaged in bottle-feeding. Several factors were significantly associated with breastfeeding practices.
Breastfeeding practices varied among the respondents despite the fair knowledge.
This study reveals the need to educate women and communities worldwide particularly in low-income countries about good breastfeeding practices. Targeting these women will help to improve maternal and child health.
母乳作为婴儿的营养来源具有独特的优越性，母乳喂养有诸多益处。本研究确定了居住在海军营房的有0至2岁子女的女性的母乳喂养知识和行为。
本描述性横断面研究在采用系统随机抽样方法选取的海军营房的220名女性中进行。经过预测试的问卷由经过培训的访谈员发放，数据使用Epi info 2000和社会科学统计软件包第19版进行分析。
这些女性对母乳喂养的知识总体上处于一般水平。大多数受访者（97.3%）曾母乳喂养过自己的婴儿，其中56.5%在分娩后一小时内开始母乳喂养，24.1%承认她们曾给予初乳前喂养，74.1%进行纯母乳喂养的平均时长为4.98个月，30.7%采用奶瓶喂养。几个因素与母乳喂养行为显著相关。
尽管知识水平一般，但受访者的母乳喂养行为各不相同。
本研究表明有必要对全世界尤其是低收入国家的女性和社区进行关于良好母乳喂养行为的教育。针对这些女性将有助于改善母婴健康。
