Nyirahirwa Francine, Tuyisenge Germaine, Nyiligira John, Habtu Michael
Department of Public Health, School of Health Sciences, Mount Kenya University, Kigali, Rwanda.
Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
Rwanda J Med Health Sci. 2023 Jul 31;6(2):123-134. doi: 10.4314/rjmhs.v6i2.3. eCollection 2023 Jul.
Exclusive breastfeeding is crucial for an infant's growth and development. In Rwanda, 47% of rural children and 27% of urban children are stunted which could be linked to poor exclusive breastfeeding. Thus, this study was carried out to assess prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and associated factors in Karongi district of Rwanda.
A cross-sectional design was used involving 261 mothers with infants of 6 to 9 months selected systematically with an interval two as they came to the health facilities. The data were collected using structured questionnaire. The factors independently associated with exclusive breastfeeding were determined using multivariable logistic regression analysis.
The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was 87.1%. Married mothers (AOR= 3.15; 95%CI = 1.07 - 9.28), protestant mothers (AOR= 0.15; 95%CI = 0.03 - 0.69), attending prenatal care (AOR= 19.87; 95%CI = 3.00 - 131.68), receiving postnatal care (AOR = 3.07; 95%CI = 1.31 - 7.21) and receiving breastfeeding counseling (AOR= 3.16; 95%CI = 1.03 - 9.69) were identified as independent factors associated with exclusively breastfeeding.
The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was high but with various healthcare service associated factors. Therefore awareness and appropriate behavior change communication strategies on exclusive breastfeeding should be encouraged during prenatal and postpartum care for optimum practice.
纯母乳喂养对婴儿的生长发育至关重要。在卢旺达，47%的农村儿童和27%的城市儿童发育迟缓，这可能与纯母乳喂养不足有关。因此，本研究旨在评估卢旺达卡龙吉区纯母乳喂养的患病率及相关因素。
采用横断面设计，选取261名有6至9个月婴儿的母亲，她们来卫生机构时按系统抽样法每隔一个选取。数据通过结构化问卷收集。使用多变量逻辑回归分析确定与纯母乳喂养独立相关的因素。
纯母乳喂养的患病率为87.1%。已婚母亲（调整后比值比[AOR]=3.15；95%置信区间[CI]=1.07 - 9.28）、新教母亲（AOR=0.15；95%CI=0.03 - 0.69）、接受产前护理（AOR=19.87；95%CI=3.00 - 131.68）、接受产后护理（AOR=3.07；95%CI=1.31 - 7.21）和接受母乳喂养咨询（AOR=3.16；95%CI=1.03 - 9.69）被确定为与纯母乳喂养相关的独立因素。
纯母乳喂养的患病率较高，但存在各种与医疗服务相关的因素。因此，应在产前和产后护理期间鼓励开展关于纯母乳喂养的意识和适当的行为改变沟通策略，以实现最佳实践。
