Patterns of Infant Feeding Practices Among Lactating Mothers in Selected Communities in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated patterns of infant feeding practices and the common reasons for the adoption of the pattern among lactating mothers in Bayelsa State. Two research questions and five null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey research design. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used to select a sample size of 713 lactating mothers from the entire population. A structured Patterns of Infant Feeding Practices Questionnaire (PIFPQ), In-depth Interview Guide (IDIG), Focus Group Discussion Guide (FGDG) and Key Informant Interview Schedule (KIIS) were used for data collection. The standard descriptive statistics were applied to describe data pattern. Frequency count and percentage were used to analyse the research questions while Chi-square test was used to examine the significance of the association between categorical data at 0.05 alpha level. Findings revealed that more than half of lactating mothers (62.8%) practised inclusive methods of infants feeding while 37.2 per cent of the mothers attempted exclusive breast feeding method of infant feeding, but weaned before six months and never continued breast feeding beyond two years, which indicate non-compliance with the EBF method of infant feeding in Bayelsa State. The study concluded that inclusive breast feeding pattern of infant feeding is prevalent among lactating mothers. The study suggested that efforts towards encouraging mothers to practise exclusive breast feeding method of infant feeding should not be relented, and that midwives and other health care workers should continually be trained to support lactating mothers to enhance adoption of EBF as infant feeding method.