Father's Knowledge, Attitude and Support to Mother's Exclusive Breastfeeding Practices in Bangladesh: A Multi-Group Structural Equations Model Analysis

The practice of key messages for optimal breastfeeding and associated factors among lactating mothers in the Boset District, Oromia, Ethiopia

Background

Inadequate breastfeeding can lead to significant morbidity, mortality, and long-term adverse health outcomes. Key messages promoting optimal breastfeeding are integral to Essential Nutritional Action, aimed at improving children's nutritional status, especially those under the age of two. However, there is a dearth of data regarding the extent to which lactating mothers adhere to these key messages and the associated factors. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of practice of key messages for optimal breastfeeding and identify associated factors among lactating mothers living in the Boset District, Oromia, Ethiopia.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 418 lactating mothers from January 1st to February 28th, 2022. The participants were selected using a systematic random sampling technique, and data were collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires. The collected data were entered into Epi Info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Binary logistic regressions were performed to examine the association between independent and dependent variables. Adjusted Odds Ratios with a 95% confidence interval were used to estimate the strength of the associations and statistical significance was declared at a p-value < 0.05.

Result

The overall level of practice of key messages for optimal breastfeeding was 63.9% (95% CI: 59.1-68.2). The odds of practicing key messages for optimal breastfeeding were higher for mothers who attended antenatal care four times or more (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.4-5.3), received counseling on breastfeeding during postnatal care (AOR = 3.7, 95% CI: 2.2-6.4), had a good knowledge of breastfeeding (AOR = 6.2, 95% CI: 3.6-10.7), and had a favorable attitude toward breastfeeding (AOR = 6.1, 95% CI: 3.5-10.6).

Conclusion

Breastfeeding key message practices among lactating mothers in the study area fell below the recommended universal coverage of 90%. Factors identified included the number of antenatal care visits, counseling on breastfeeding, level of knowledge, and attitude toward breastfeeding. Promoting regular antenatal visits, providing thorough postnatal counseling, and enhancing knowledge and attitudes are crucial for improving optimal breastfeeding practices.

"Better start": promoting breastfeeding through demarketing

BACKGROUND

This paper explores how demarketing strategies impact women's breastfeeding attitudes, intentions, and behaviors under the moderation of time pressure and breastfeeding knowledge.

METHODS

A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey among 369 respondents is used to test the proposed hypotheses. The study's population includes all breastfeeding women in Palestine. Snowball and convenience sampling were used to choose study participants through personal connections and social media. Every respondent was encouraged to share the survey with their social media contacts.

RESULTS

The data results confirm the positive effects of promotion, place, price, and product demarketing, respectively, on women's attitudes, intentions, and behavior toward breastfeeding. These effects were reinforced by reduction in time pressure and breastfeeding knowledge. Furthermore, demarketing effects are stronger for younger, more educated, unemployed, and lower-income women.

CONCLUSION

The study is a primer on promoting breastfeeding instead of formula by means of demarketing strategies.

The Relationship between Maternal Ideation and Exclusive Breastfeeding Practice among Saudi Nursing Mothers: A Cross-Sectional Study

All mortality risk factors are higher in non-breastfed infants compared to infants under five months of age who receive Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF). Examining the predicting role of maternal ideation in EBF practices can help to direct and strengthen the cooperation between multidisciplinary healthcare providers to formulate multidisciplinary breastfeeding enhancement strategies. Methods: This correlational cross-sectional study investigates the relationship between maternal ideation and EBF practice among Saudi nursing mothers at Maternal and Children’s Hospital (MCH) in Najran, Saudi Arabia. The study incorporated 403 Saudi nursing mothers aged 6–12 months with healthy infants. The data collected using a questionnaire comprises demographic characteristics and obstetric history, the EBF Practice scale, and a maternal ideation scale. The data was collected from the beginning of November 2022 to the end of January 2023 and analyzed using I.B.M. version 22. Results: Breastfeeding initiation within one hour occurred among 85.1% of women, while 39.2% fed their newborn only colostrum during the first three days. EBF until six months was practiced by 40.9% of the participants day and night and on-demand (38.7%). Furthermore, 60.8% of the study participants had satisfactory overall EBF practices. The cognitive part of maternal ideation shows that 68.2% of the participants had adequate knowledge and 63.5% had positive beliefs regarding EBF practice. The maternal psychological ideation dimensions show that 81.4% had high EBF self-efficacy. The maternal social ideation dimensions showed that high injunctive and descriptive norms were present among 40.9% and 37.5%, respectively. In addition, healthcare providers (39.2%) had the most significant social influence, followed by husbands (30.5%). Binary logistic regression shows that the mother’s age, occupation, and education are the significant demographic predictors of satisfactory EBF practices (p < 0.05). All maternal ideation constructs were positive predictors of satisfactory EBF practices (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Maternal ideation constructs are positive predictors of satisfactory EBF practice and can be used to predict high-risk groups and plan for further intervention.

The influence of breastfeeding attitudes on breastfeeding behavior of postpartum women and their spouses

Purpose

This study aimed to explore: (1) the influence of maternal sociodemographic factors on breastfeeding attitudes, (2) the relationship between breastfeeding attitudes of postpartum women and their spouses, (3) the predictors of breastfeeding behavior (mixed breastfeeding) at two months postpartum, and (4) to establish the reliability of the Chinese version of the paternal Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) in Taiwan.

Methods

A correlational and follow-up study design was used on a convenience sample of 215 women and 215 fathers recruited from a regional teaching hospital in central Taiwan from July 2020 to December 2020. The participants completed the IIFAS during postpartum hospitalization and a follow-up via telephone at 8 weeks postpartum for information on feeding methods and duration. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze the predictors of breastfeeding duration.

Results

Maternal breastfeeding attitude scores ranged from 42 to 79, with a mean score of 59.78 (SD ± 6.68). Spouses' breastfeeding attitude scores ranged from 46 to 81, with a mean score of 59.60 (SD ± 6.93). Mother and spouse's IIFAS scores were highly correlated (r = 0.50, p < 0.001), and the scores of both parents were significantly associated with the duration of breastfeeding. With each increased point on maternal and paternal IIFAS scores, the odds of breastfeeding during the first 8 weeks increased 6% and 10%, respectively.

Conclusion

This is the first study to validate the IIFAS (Chinese version) with paternal participants in Taiwan. Identifying and understanding the infant feeding attitudes of mothers and their spouses should be an early step in designing and implementing breastfeeding interventions.

Mother’s knowledge as a dominant factor for the success of exclusive breastfeeding in Indonesia

Introduction: Exclusive breastfeeding is one of the important indicators in achieving nutritional problems in children. Unfortunately, only 1 in 2 babies are exclusively breastfed in Indonesia. Therefore, this study aims to examine the factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding in the country. Design and Methods: Data were obtained from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS), by using a cross-sectional design involving a total of 2,217 mothers. The independent variables include weaning food, knowledge, labor difficulties, postpartum visits, number of children, marital status, sex of children, and low birth weight (LBW), while the dependent variable include exclusive breastfeeding. Subsequently, chi-square test and logistic regression were used to examine the relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and the related factors. Results: The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in Indonesia was 36.5%. Bivariate analysis showed that the variables associated with exclusive breastfeeding were weaning feeding, knowledge, low birth weight, and difficulty in labor with p-values of 0.005, 0.000, 0.040, and 0.005, respectively. The most dominant variable for exclusive breastfeeding behavior is knowledge with a value of OR = 1.85. Conclusions: There is a significant relationship between knowledge of mothers, weaning food, and low birth weight with exclusive breastfeeding behavior. Meanwhile, the main determinant among the variables is mother's knowledge. Therefore, health workers and community service cadres need to provide counseling about health, assistance, and motivation to mothers, thereby they will be able to properly provide exclusive breastfeeding.

The Role of Fathers in Promoting Exclusive Breastfeeding

The cornerstone of a newborn's nutrition is breastfeeding. Due to its well-known benefits for mothers, children, and society in the short and long term, the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recommend it as the best way of feeding the baby during the first six months of life. The family, particularly the spouse, may significantly influence the baby's quality of nursing. On a global scale, previous studies have demonstrated that family members (such as a mother's spouse, partner, or grandmother) not only affect her choice to start and endure breastfeeding but also significantly contribute to the early postnatal period's cessation of appropriate breastfeeding. A father's knowledge and attitude are fundamental in this regard, as he has the most critical role in helping women with parenting and feeding their babies. Furthermore, because the father's role is considered important in a family, the partner's or wife's perception of the father's attitude may alter her subjective criteria about exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). Future initiatives should target new mothers and their spouses to see how they may provide the most beneficial assistance to new mothers. The main focus should be on targeting newly married couples. The father's lack of involvement may be due to the hierarchical structure of power within households. Because of this hierarchical aspect, partners or fathers may significantly influence a mother's choice to nurse their child correctly. Household chores, childcare for grown-up children, guaranteeing the well-being of their spouse, preparing meals, recognizing a newborn's hunger cues, burping, and changing the infant's diaper after feedings, all these factors indirectly support the mother in initiating and enduring the nursing of a child.

Shift-work and breastfeeding for women returning to work in a manufacturing workplace in Taiwan

Background

Although breastfeeding-friendly workplaces are provided to promote an employed mother’s breastfeeding intention, few studies have explored breastfeeding intentions and behavior after a mother returns to work on a shift work or non-shift work schedule. To explore the impact of breastfeeding-friendly support on the intention of working mothers with different work schedules to continue breastfeeding, we conducted a survey at a female labor-intensive electronics manufacturer in Taiwan from August 2011 to April 2012.

Methods

Female workers who met the inclusion criteria (maternity leave between January 2009 and January 2011) were invited to participate in the survey. A structured questionnaire survey was administered to 715 working mothers employed at an electronics manufacturing plant in Tainan Science Park in Southern Taiwan. The questionnaire content included female employee demographic characteristics, employment characteristics, continued breastfeeding behavior after returning to work, access to lactation rooms, and employee perception of the breastfeeding policy and support when raising their most recently born child.

Results

A total of 715 employed mothers’ data were collected. Of the shift workers, 90.1% breastfed during maternity leave, but the breastfeeding rates after returning to work decreased to 21.5% for one to six months and 17.9% for more than six months. Of the non-shift workers, 87.6% breastfed during maternity leave and the breastfeeding rates after returning to work were 24.1% for one to six months and 34.6% for more than six months. Using a lactation room and taking advantage of breast-pumping breaks were significant factors for continuing to breastfeed one to six months after returning to work and more than six months after returning to work among shift workers and non-shift workers. In addition, among non-shift workers, a higher education level of the mother (odds ratio (OR) = 9.57) and partner support (OR = 4.89) had positive effects toward a mother continuing breastfeeding for more than six months after returning to work.

Conclusions

Workplaces or employers should provide more support to encourage employed mothers to take advantage of the breastfeeding room and breast-pumping breaks, enhance the frequency of the usage of lactation rooms, and increase the rate of continued breastfeeding.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13006-022-00467-8.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of men in a South African rural community in relation to exclusive breastfeeding

Background

Several lifelong maternal, child and societal health benefits have been associated with exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). However, despite all the potential advantages, EBF rates have been consistently low in developing countries, including South Africa. It has been suggested that the knowledge, attitudes and practices of male partners in relation to EBF are amongst the important factors that contribute to the success of EBF practices. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of men in Botshabelo, Free State province, South Africa, regarding EBF.

Methods

This study was designed as a cross-sectional analytical study that utilised a structured questionnaire administered to 200 adult men attending the outpatient department of a district hospital, in the Free State province, South Africa.

Results

The majority (n = 83; 41.5%) of participants had poor knowledge of EBF but reported positive attitudes (n = 153, 76.5%) and good practices (n = 151, 75.5%) towards EBF, respectively. Age, levels of education, employment status, marital status and whether the participant accompanied his partner to the antenatal clinic were associated with adequate knowledge, positive attitudes and good practices in relation to EBF (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The study revealed a suboptimal level of knowledge on EBF in men in Botshabelo. Most men had positive attitudes and reported good practices in relation to EBF. Our findings highlight the need for targeted community-based intervention programmes directed to educating and promoting positive social and cultural change in relation to EBF amongst men in Botshabelo.