Beliefs, attitudes, and practices of breastfeeding mothers from a peri-urban community in South Africa
RIS ID
17549
Abstract
The aim of this study was to document the breastfeeding practices, beliefs, and attitudes of periurban South African lactating mothers with infants younger than 6 months. None of the mothers (n = 115, mean age 26 plus minus 6.3 years) reported exclusively breastfeeding their infants, with complementary breastfeeding being the most practiced (78%) feeding mode. Complementary foods were fed to 32% of infants by their first month of life. Perceived inadequate production of breast milk was the most common (90%) reason cited for adding foods and liquids to breastfeeds. Mothers valued use of traditional herbal preparations (muthi), with more then half (56%) of the infants having received their first dose of muthi before 1 month of age. Our study provides important data on breastfeeding practices of women living within resource-poor settings. Development of successful infant-feeding interventions aimed at promoting overall infant health can benefit from knowledge of these breastfeeding patterns.
Publication Details
Sibeko, L., Dhansay, M., Charlton, K. E., Johns, T. & Gray-Donald, K. (2005). Beliefs, attitudes, and practices of breastfeeding mothers from a peri-urban community in South Africa. Journal of Human Lactation, 21 (1), 31-38.