CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Breast feeding promotion plays a significant role in the well being of nursing mother and their children. There have been so many benefits from breast feeding for nursing mothers and their child; for mothers the benefits include decreased risk of ovarian and breast cancers, potential reduced risk of postpartum depression, and potential contribution to weight loss (return to pre-pregnancy weight). Financial benefits for the family in the infant’s first year of life include savings up to $1500 in formula cost (Haroon et al., 2013). Decreased incidence of illness in the first year also contributes to significant cost savings to the family.
According to (Eidelman & Schanler, 2012; USDHHS-3, 2011) stated that the estimated cost savings in the U.S. if 90% of families exclusively breastfed for six months is 13 billion dollars related to health care costs.
Common barriers for mothers to initiate or continue breastfeeding include lack of experience or understanding, lack of support, including from family and employers, inadequate support with troubleshooting, lack of up-to-date information from health care providers, and hospital practices that fail to promote breastfeeding (Brown, Raynor, & Lee, 2011; USDHHS-1, 2011).
According to (Taveras et al., 2003) stated that provider support has shown to increase breastfeeding initiations and continuance rates.
Primary care providers can improve breastfeeding rates through the implementation of several interventions including the following: time-specific education guidelines; presentation of breastfeeding as the rule or norm, not the exception in infant feeding; maintain up-to-date education and skills related to breastfeeding promotion; providing resources to support breastfeeding mothers; and creating follow-up protocols for the clinic to support women to start and continue breastfeeding (Eidelman & Schanler, 2012; USDHHS-4, 2011).
A systematic review of the literature completed by Haroon, Das, Salam, Imdad, & Bhutta (2013) showed that breastfeeding promotion interventions not only significantly increased rates of exclusive breastfeeding, but also decreased the rate of those not breastfeeding at all. The study in this regard wishes to carry out an examination of breast feeding promotion using the primary health center as the case study.
1.2 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM
What really instigated the study breast feeding promotion in primary health center was due to the increase in the rate of malnitrition among young children.
Many women fail to initiate breastfeeding, while many others struggle to continue breastfeeding exclusively for six months of the infant’s life, or continue partial breastfeeding for 12 months or longer. The mothers and infants who fail at breastfeeding, for various reasons, fail to profit from health and economic benefits that last for decades (Eidelman & Schanler, 2012). Healthy People 2020 set a goal for 81.9% of mothers to initiate breastfeeding, 60.6% to be breastfeeding any amount at six months (25.5% exclusively), and 34.1% breastfeeding at one year. Current recommendations are for exclusive breastfeeding until six months, and then continued breastfeeding until 12 months. In the United States (US), the current data on the prevalence of breastfeeding shows only 74% of women initiate breastfeeding, only 43.5% are still breastfeeding at six months (only 14.1% exclusively), and 22.7% are breastfeeding at one year (USDHHS-1, 2011). In order to improve the health of our communities and our nation, breastfeeding needs to be a priority, and providers need to have the education and confidence to address breastfeeding with their patients. Most literature has been carried out on breast feeding but no research has been carried out on breast feeding promotion in health center in Nigeria.
1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The main aim of the research work is to examine breast feeding promotion in primary health center. Other specific objectives of study include:
1. To determine the effect of breast feeding promotion on the knowledge attitude of nursing mother on the breast feeding