TITLE:
Mothers’ Knowledge and Practices Regarding Exclusive Breastfeeding in the Central African Republic
AUTHORS:
Hilda Josephe Touadera Mongboa, Brice Olivier Bogning Mejiozem, Jean Chrysostome Gody
KEYWORDS:
EBF, Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, Mothers, CAR
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.15 No.1,
January
16,
2025
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Breastfeeding is the best way to provide ideal nutrition for optimal infant growth and development. Objectives: The aim of our work was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of mothers of children aged 0 - 24 months on exclusive breastfeeding in the Central African Republic. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study conducted from September 15 to October 15, 2024 among mothers of infants aged 0 to 24 months. Sociodemographic, obstetric and breastfeeding-related data were collected through individual interviews conducted during sensitizations on good feeding practices organized by the Tina Touadera Foundation. The chi2 test was used to test for relationships between variables, and the p significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The average age of the mothers surveyed was 27.67 years. 65.69% (n = 247) of mothers lived in urban areas and 55.85% (n = 210) were Muslim. 56.38% (n = 212) were living common-law and 34.04% (n = 128) were poor. Secondary-school mothers (44.42%, n = 167) and housewives (53.72%, n = 202) were in the majority. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) was correctly defined by 79.26% (n = 298) of mothers and actually practised in 24.20% (n = 91) of cases. The main source of information was a health professional in 75.36% (n = 304) of cases. Among the 285 mothers who practised mixed breastfeeding, lack of time (33.33%) was the main reason. They acknowledged having given water (100%), corn porridge (75.09%) and/or artificial milk (24.91%) before the first 6 months of life. The average time for introducing water was 2.2 months, and for porridge/formula 2.79 months. More than half the mothers (55.05%) said they did not know their infants’ weaning age. Factors positively influencing the use of EBF were age under 29, residence in an urban area, primiparity, having been informed about AME by a health professional, and being a housewife or shopkeeper (p Conclusion: Mothers’ level of knowledge was heterogeneous but insufficient overall. An effective system of information and education from pregnancy to the first six months of life is needed to promote breastfeeding.