Social Media Utilization Among Breastfeeding Mothers In The Accra Metropolitan Area

ABSTRACT Good breastfeeding practices provide infants with the nutrients they need for optimal growth and development. Breastfeeding reduces the risk of infection and also has significant health benefits to the mother as well. Health communication is important to support good breastfeeding practices. However, communication through the health system alone is not sufficient enough to reach everyone who needs breastfeeding information. Social media could serve as an inexpensive way of receiving information. This study examined the use of social media to access breastfeeding information by breastfeeding women. The study used a cross-sectional design. Data collection was carried out in three health facilities within the Accra Metropolitan area, namely; Ridge Hospital, La General Hospital, and Trust Hospital. A sample of four hundred and twenty (420) breastfeeding mothers were interviewed. One hundred and forty (140) breastfeeding mothers eighteen years of age and above who were breastfeeding an infant between the ages of 0-2 years were recruited and interviewed at each health facility. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Information on breastfeeding mothers’ knowledge on the use of social media, breastfeeding mothers’ perception of significant others use of social media for breastfeeding information, breastfeeding mothers’ intention to use social media for breastfeeding information and breastfeeding mothers’ use of social media for breastfeeding information, were collected and analysed using Stata 15.0 statistical software. Two-thirds (67.6%) of the breastfeeding mothers intended to use social media to access breastfeeding information. One-third (34.5%) preferred to receive information in a video format while about 30% preferred to receive information in picture format. Almost 80% of the breastfeeding mothers reported knowledge on the use of social media. Breastfeeding women who had tertiary education were more likely to use social media than mothers with other levels of education (AOR. 6.144, CI: 1.522,24.808, p-value =0.011). Breastfeeding mothers who reported good knowledge on how to operate devices used for social media were more likely to use social media to access breastfeeding information (AOR. 8.498 CI: 0.996,72.497, p=0.050). Health facilities and organisations should encourage the use of social media for breastfeeding information