Exclusive Breastfeeding Practices among Nursing Mothers in Zenith Bank Branches within Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the exclusive breastfeeding among working class mothers in Zenith Bank branches within Lagos Metropolis Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive cross-sectional survey design. The sample size consisted of 195 women who work with Zenith Bank within Ikeja Local Government and have given birth to at least one child. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25.0 was used to analyze the data.. The association between exclusive breast-feeding knowledge, attitudes, and practice was determined using odds ratio. Pearson’s correlation was used to test the association between knowledge scores and attitude scores. The mothers who practiced exclusive breast feeding for six months were 28.2%. About 92.3% gave breast milk only as the first feed, 89.75% did not give post-lacteal, while 91.79% gave colostrum. There were positive associations between knowledge scores and attitude scores (r=0.389, N=195, p<0.05) on exclusive breastfeeding. Challenges to exclusive breastfeeding were breast problems, low milk production, inadequate leave and tight work schedule. In conclusion, mothers in this study had good knowledge and positive attitude towards exclusive breastfeeding, but the practice of exclusive breastfeeding for six months is lower than WHO recommendation.