Moshi Fabiola Vincent, Akyoo Esther E, Seif Saada Ally
Department of Nursing Management and Education, School of Nursing and Public Health of University of Dodoma, Tanzania.
Department of Clinical Nursing, School of Nursing and Public Health of University of Dodoma.
East Afr Health Res J. 2021;5(1):82-90. doi: 10.24248/eahrj.v5i1.654. Epub 2021 Jun 11.
Initiating breastfeeding during the first hour after birth and continuing breastfeeding exclusively for 6 months prevents childhood infections such as diarrhoea. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 months of life of the baby is recognised globally as the best and the most effective intervention to ensure the survival of babies. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of EBF and its predictors among mothers of 0 to 6 months infants from pastoralists and hunters' community in Manyara region-Tanzania.
This was a community-based analytical cross-sectional study that involved 342 mothers of 0 to 6 months infants who were randomly selected through 4 stage multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Collected data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Binary Logistic Regression analysis was used to establish factors associated with EBF practices.
The prevalence of EBF among postnatal women from hunters and pastoralists societies was 47.1% at 95% CI=41.7%-52.5%. After adjusted for confounders, the predictors of EBF practice were age of infants (0-1 months, AOR = 2.838 at 95% CI = 1.326-6.075, ), age of mothers (26-35 years, AOR=1.851 at 95% CI= 1.059-3.234, ), Level of education of infants' mothers (primary education, AOR= 2.374 at 95% CI= 1.321-4.265, ) and knowledge on exclusive breast feeding, AOR=2.51 at 95% CI= 1.435-4.393,
Majority of mothers from pastoralists' and hunters' societies were not practising EBF. Predictors of EBF practice were; the age of infants, maternal age, level of education of the mother and knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding. Poor EBF practice was mainly contributed to low level of knowledge about the EBF. The low level of knowledge could have been contributed by poor access to maternal services. Nature of living (lack of permanent settlement) of the study population could have contributed to low access to maternal services. An innovative interventional study is highly recommended to come up with strategies that will improve knowledge on EBF and practice of EBF.
产后一小时内开始母乳喂养并纯母乳喂养6个月可预防儿童感染，如腹泻。婴儿出生后头6个月纯母乳喂养（EBF）被全球公认为确保婴儿存活的最佳且最有效的干预措施。本研究的目的是确定坦桑尼亚曼亚拉地区牧民和猎人社区中0至6个月婴儿母亲的纯母乳喂养患病率及其预测因素。
这是一项基于社区的分析性横断面研究，涉及342名0至6个月婴儿的母亲，她们通过四阶段多阶段抽样技术随机选取。数据通过访谈式问卷收集。收集的数据使用社会科学统计软件包（SPSS）20版进行分析。二元逻辑回归分析用于确定与纯母乳喂养行为相关的因素。
来自猎人和牧民社会的产后妇女中，纯母乳喂养的患病率为47.1%，95%置信区间为41.7%-52.5%。在对混杂因素进行调整后，纯母乳喂养行为的预测因素为婴儿年龄（0至1个月，调整后比值比[AOR]=2.838，95%置信区间为1.326-6.075）、母亲年龄（26至35岁，AOR=1.851，95%置信区间为1.059-3.234）、婴儿母亲的教育水平（小学教育，AOR=2.374，95%置信区间为1.321-4.265）以及纯母乳喂养知识（AOR=2.51，95%置信区间为1.435-4.393）。
来自牧民和猎人社会的大多数母亲未实行纯母乳喂养。纯母乳喂养行为的预测因素包括婴儿年龄、母亲年龄、母亲教育水平以及纯母乳喂养知识。纯母乳喂养行为不佳主要是由于对纯母乳喂养的知识水平较低。知识水平低可能归因于获得孕产妇服务的机会少。研究人群的生活性质（缺乏永久定居点）可能导致获得孕产妇服务的机会少。强烈建议开展一项创新性干预研究，以提出改善纯母乳喂养知识和纯母乳喂养行为的策略。
