Awareness about appropriate breastfeeding practices among mothers in low income communities in Kampala district: a case of Katanga community.

Abstract

Background: Many children are not breastfed in the recommended way, and complementary feeding is not done appropriately among some mothers. This is associated with various health risks. Thus, WHO and UNICEF formulated the Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices to give guidance about appropriate feeding practices for infants and young children. Adherence to these guidelines will help Uganda to experience a drastic reduction in the cases of malnutrition in Uganda (stunting and wasting). General Objective: To assess the level of awareness about appropriate breastfeeding practices lactating mothers in low-income communities. Specific Objectives: i. To determine mothers’ awareness about recommended maternal practices for effective breastfeeding. ii. To assess the mothers’ awareness about exclusive breastfeeding iii. To assess the mothers’ awareness about complementary feeding. iv. To establish the mothers’ sources of knowledge on breastfeeding. Methodology: Study Design: The study was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Study Population: This study is carried out in the Katanga community, one of the biggest slums in Kampala City, which has a population of over 20,000 people with more than 50% being children below 14 years. The study was carried out among mothers with at least one child that is 2 years and below ( 2 years) of age in households. Data Collection and Analysis: Data was collected using a three-part interviewer-administered questionnaire with questions targeted at finding out mother’s level of knowledge about IYCF practices. Each part focused on each of the specific objectives of the study. Data was then analysed using SPSS and was presented in form of frequencies, percentages, mean and median related to the different objectives. Results: The mothers generally have a high level of awareness about exclusive breastfeeding. Generally, mothers have a low level of awareness about complementary feeding. The lowest level of knowledge was on alternative methods of breastfeeding. Generally, the mothers have a moderate level of awareness about appropriate maternal practices for effective breastfeeding. Mothers obtain their knowledge about breastfeeding mostly from health centres. Conclusions: Mothers have a high awareness about EBF probably because of the national guidelines and policies that encourage emphasis on education concerning EBF. Mothers have a low awareness about complementary feeding which puts children at risk of acute malnutrition. There is also less emphasis placed on some maternal practices for effective breastfeeding.