Knowledge, attitude, practice, self-efficacy and barriers to exclusive breastfeeding practices among women in a
Girija Kalayil Madhavanprabhakaran1, Judie Arulappan1, Frincy Francis1
1Department of Maternal and Child Health, College of Nursing, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Objective:
The study identified the knowledge, attitude, practice, self-efficacy and barriers to exclusive breastfeeding practices.
Methods:
A prospective cohort study was conducted among 505 Omani breastfeeding women. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from 2020 to 2022.
Results:
A large portion of women reported having good knowledge and very good attitude toward breastfeeding; however, 33.5% reported less self-efficacy. A total of 79.2% of women-initiated breastfeeding within 1 h after delivery. While 77.3% practiced combination of both breastfeeding and formula feeding, only 22.7% reported exclusive breastfeeding practices. In addition, 81% of the women reported high level of barriers to exclusive breastfeeding. Most of the women believed that formula feeding is equivalent to breastfeeding. Further, embarrassment about feeding in public and lactation problems were reported as barriers to exclusive breastfeeding. Additionally, policies and practices by some health services and health care providers, lack of knowledge regarding essential diet for breastfeeding and lack of support from employer for allowing special time/facilities for breastfeeding were the predictors related to the barriers to exclusive breastfeeding practices. The other predictors include younger women, particularly <20 years; less educated women; unsure if the baby is getting enough milk and a belief that formula is easy to use and easily available.
Conclusion:
Exclusive breastfeeding is associated with innumerable benefits to both the mother and the child. The policy makers and healthcare providers must emphasize on the exclusive breastfeeding practices and create stringent policies allowing special time/facilities for breastfeeding. Strategies must be created to combat the barriers to exclusive breastfeeding practices.
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