ABSTRACT
Background: Breastfeeding is the simplest and most reliable means of feeding infants to
their maximum satisfaction and it reduces the likelihood of childhood illnesses such as
pneumonia, diarrhoea. EBF in particular, promotes the optimal health of the infant in
diverse ways. Although there is evidence on exclusive breastfeeding among professional
working nursing mothers and mothers working in the informal sector, there has been no
comparative studies between these two categories of women in Ghana. The study aimed
at exploring the prevalence and barriers to EBF among informal working nursing mothers
and mothers working in the formal sector in Ghana in order to bridge the knowledge gap
and add to existing findings on barriers to exclusive breastfeeding.
Methods: The study adopted a facility based cross-sectional quantitative study design
where simple random sampling technique was used to select 115 informal sector nursing
mothers and 114 formal sector working mothers aged 15-45 years who had children
between the ages of 6 and 24 months. A structured questionnaire was used to gather the
data for the study. Descriptive statistics, and inferential was used in analysis of data.
Results: All 229 respondents from the Postnatal unit of the Mamprobi Polyclinic
breastfed their infants during their most recent birth. Out of this number, 23.1% of
mothers working in the formal sector and 76.9%of mothers working in the informal
sector exclusively breastfed. After controlling for potential confounders, factors that
significantly predicted exclusive breastfeeding were; health condition of baby within first
six months, mothers occupation and mothers hospitalization within six months after
delivery .An association was also found between, marital status, maternal age, level of
education and practice of exclusive breastfeeding. Conclusion: The research revealed that EBF practice is very low among nursing mothers
who work in the formal sector. Factors which affect exclusive breast feeding practice
among women in the formal sector therefore need to be urgently addressed through
interventions like advocacy for change in policies, public health education as well as
increased support at home and in working institutions to promote exclusively
breastfeeding
CDR, C (2021). Exclusive Breastfeeding Practice Among Formally And Informally Employed Nursing Mothers Attending Child Welfare Clinic At Mamprobi Polyclinic, Accra. Afribary.com: Retrieved April 10, 2021, from https://afribary.com/works/exclusive-breastfeeding-practice-among-formally-and-informally-employed-nursing-mothers-attending-child-welfare-clinic-at-mamprobi-polyclinic-accra
Coalition, CDR. "Exclusive Breastfeeding Practice Among Formally And Informally Employed Nursing Mothers Attending Child Welfare Clinic At Mamprobi Polyclinic, Accra" Afribary.com. Afribary.com, 05 Apr. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/exclusive-breastfeeding-practice-among-formally-and-informally-employed-nursing-mothers-attending-child-welfare-clinic-at-mamprobi-polyclinic-accra . Accessed 10 Apr. 2021.
Coalition, CDR. "Exclusive Breastfeeding Practice Among Formally And Informally Employed Nursing Mothers Attending Child Welfare Clinic At Mamprobi Polyclinic, Accra". Afribary.com, Afribary.com, 05 Apr. 2021. Web. 10 Apr. 2021. < https://afribary.com/works/exclusive-breastfeeding-practice-among-formally-and-informally-employed-nursing-mothers-attending-child-welfare-clinic-at-mamprobi-polyclinic-accra >.
Coalition, CDR. "Exclusive Breastfeeding Practice Among Formally And Informally Employed Nursing Mothers Attending Child Welfare Clinic At Mamprobi Polyclinic, Accra" Afribary.com (2021). Accessed April 10, 2021. https://afribary.com/works/exclusive-breastfeeding-practice-among-formally-and-informally-employed-nursing-mothers-attending-child-welfare-clinic-at-mamprobi-polyclinic-accra