Original Article
 
Patterns and determinants of breastfeeding practices among rural women in Sokoto State, Nigeria
Nneka Christina Okafoagu1, Mansur Oche Oche2, Mansur Olayinka Raji3, Ben O. Onankpa4, Ismail Raji5
1MBBS, MPH, FWACP, Consultant, Department of Community Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria.
2MBBS, MPH, FWACP, Professor/ Head of Department, Department of Community Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University/ Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria.
3MBBS, MPH, FWACP, Consultant/ Lecturer, Department of Community Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University/Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria.
4MBBS, FWACP, Consultant/ Head of Department, Department of Pediatrics, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria.
5MBBS, MWACP, MPH, Senior registrar, Department of Community Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria.

Article ID: 100004M01NO2017
doi:10.5348/M01-2017-4-OA-3

Address correspondence to:
Dr. Okafoagu Nneka Christina
Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital
P.M.B 2370, Sokoto, Sokoto State
Nigeria

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How to cite this article
Okafoagu NC, Oche MO, Raji MO, Onankpa BO, Raji I. Patterns and determinants of breastfeeding practices among rural women in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Edorium J Matern Child Health 2017;2:19–29.


Abstract
Aims: Breastfeeding is the best way of providing ideal food for the health, growth and cognitive development of infants. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported early initiation of exclusive breastfeeding facilitates biological and emotional development of the child. This study aimed to assess the patterns and determinants of breastfeeding practices among rural women in Sokoto State, Nigeria.
Method: Using a descriptive cross-sectional study, 322 mothers of children 6–24 months were recruited through a multi-stage sampling method. Data was collected using a pretested structured questionnaire and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20. Chi square was used to test associations followed by binary logistic regression to determine the predictors. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Ethical approval was obtained from the Sokoto State Ethical Committee.
Results: The mean ages of the children and mothers were 16.3±5.9 months and 27.4±7.1 years respectively. Majority (95.3%) of the mothers was married; 68.3% had no formal western education and 77.3% were full time housewives. All the children were breastfed. Only 14% did not give colostrum; 57.8% initiated breastfeeding within one hour after birth and 77.9% gave pre-lacteal feeds. Exclusive breastfeeding at six months was 17.1%. Factors influencing breastfeeding practices were found to be maternal occupation (OR = 4.806), parity (OR = 0.227), family setting (OR = 0.484) and health education sessions received during ANC (OR = 2.157).
Conclusion: The practice of early initiation of breastfeeding and the practice of exclusive breastfeeding is low and is influenced by biological, economic and health system factors. Future community mobilization plans need to be strengthened in order to address identified gaps.

Keywords: Breastfeeding, Determinants, Rural, Sokoto


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Author Contributions:
Nneka Christina Okafoagu – Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Oche Mansur Oche – Substantial contributions to conception and design, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Raji Olayinka Mansur – Substantial contributions to conception and design, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Ben Onankpa – Substantial contributions to conception and design, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Raji Ismail – Analysis and interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of submission
The corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of support
None
Conflict of interest
Authors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright
© 2017 Nneka Christina Okafoagu et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.