Exclusive breastfeeding practice among mothers with children aged 6-24 Months Ratchaburi Province

Abstract

Breast milk provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one-third during the second year of life. Exclusive breastfeeding helps for a quicker recovery during illness. Duration of exclusive breastfeeding is important for maternal and child health. Baby who are non-exclusively breastfed are twofold increased than exclusive breastfed for risk of dying from diarrhea and pneumonia. This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors related to exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months of infant age among mothers of children aged 6-24 months by using of the Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Efficacy Belief. Hence, these results will be beneficial for identifying the potential interventions to increase the exclusive breastfeeding rate. As the result, child mortality and morbidity can be significantly reduced. Results showed that 94.5% of infants had been ever breastfed, but only 42.6% had initiated breastfeeding within the first hour of birth. 39.5% of infants were exclusively breastfed up to 6 months. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed two variables were independently associated with exclusive breastfeeding: mother’s high breastfeeding self-efficacy and having lactation problems. From this study, it was concluded that mothers’ class attaining husbands’ support for breastfeeding should apply a role model techniques for improving the mothers’ breastfeeding self-efficacy by a method of peer education to sustain and increase the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding.