ABSTRACT
This study investigates the effectiveness of primary healthcare center-based breastfeeding support programs in promoting exclusive breastfeeding in Owerri North Local Government Area (LGA). The population of the study covered all the government owned primary healthcare centres in Owerri North Local government area of Imo state and the nursing mothers from October 2023 to February, 2024 which gave a total of 486 as obtained from Imo state Ministry of Health, Owerri 2024. The Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 10 respondents from each health centers to get a total sample size of 100. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire and the method of data analysis was mean statistics. Data was collected through questionnaires and analyzed using mean method. Findings revealed that exclusive breastfeeding significantly lowers the risk of gastrointestinal infections, with a mean score of 3.57 (SD = 0.42), and protects newborns against diarrhea and other infectious diseases, with a mean score of 3.49 (SD = 0.38). Primary healthcare centers in Owerri North LGA have been effective in promoting exclusive breastfeeding, with a cumulative mean score of 3.59 (SD = 0.12). This includes the establishment of more healthcare centers, provision of medical facilities and equipment, and raising awareness of prevailing health problems. Support programs have helped spread awareness of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding (mean score of 3.47, SD = 0.24) and educated pregnant women and nursing mothers (mean score of 3.64, SD = 0.19) in communities. Measures such as implementing interventions (mean score of 3.71, SD = 0.16), maintaining education and skills related to breastfeeding promotion (mean score of 3.62, SD = 0.21), organizing seminars (mean score of 3.5, SD = 0.23), and providing adequate food and beverages (mean score of 3.62, SD = 0.16) were identified as viable strategies to promote exclusive breastfeeding. In conclusion, exclusive breastfeeding is highly beneficial for newborns, and primary healthcare centers play a pivotal role in promoting and supporting this practice. Implementing targeted interventions and educational programs can further enhance exclusive breastfeeding rates, ultimately improving maternal and child health outcomes in Owerri North LGA.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Breastfeeding is the natural way of feeding children to provide the food that is best adapted to the nutritional needs of the child. This is why the World Health Organization (WHO, 2010) recommends especially exclusive breastfeeding, as a public health feeding strategy during the first 6 months of life, followed by the introduction of complementary feeding pattern with continued breastfeeding until the child is 2 years old. This is in line with the proposed global goal that by 2025 at least, 50% of mothers in the world will adapt to exclusively breastfeed their children for the first 6 months of child birth (Igodo & Iwuoha, 2021).
Breastfeeding is a natural act and a learned behaviour that most mothers can perform; however, it is favoured by the presence of accurate information and support within the family, community and health care system to predominant breastfeeding, which includes breastfeeding plus water or water-based drinks and/or fruit juices, the complementary feeding, which includes any solid or liquid food, including milk of non-human origin and child formula, in addition to breast milk, and the most practiced exclusive breastfeeding which means feeding a baby with only breast milk, not any other foods or liquids (including infant formula or water), except for medications or vitamin and mineral supplements (Babatunde & Adesina 2016) . Breastfeeding provides numerous maternal and child health benefits. A systematic review that included 28 meta-analyses and systematic reviews in Amadi (2018) showed that breastfeeding is associated with a decreased risk of sudden death, necrotizing enterocolitis and other childhood diseases as well as a significant reduction in child mortality in low-income countries.
Several studies on Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries also show that breastfeeding is associated with significant savings for national health systems via a reduction in the incidence of childhood diseases and a possible decrease in maternal diseases, estimating these savings for the Spanish National Health System to be more than 5.6 million euros for each point of increase in the breastfeeding rate during 2014 (Creg and Anderson 2022). Although the initiation of breastfeeding is a mainstream occurrence in almost all countries, there is a progressive decline throughout the first months of life. Data published in 2016 by UNICEF indicated that worldwide, only 43% of children receive exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months. These highest rates (43%) are found in countries in South Asia, southern and even the Africa countries (Offor & Amatuche, 2023). However, the European region has the lowest rate of all WHO regions at 25%.
The WHO and UNICEF have introduced the “Baby Friendly Initiative”, which aims to encourage health centres and health services to adopt practices that protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding of children from birth (Uchegbu, 2022). The main guidelines for preventive activities and health promotion include recommendations to promote exclusive breastfeeding in primary health care (PC). This programme has taken effect in the past years in Nigeria with both federal and state support to ensure the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding. Even though evidence in support of these guidelines and interventions has come to limelight even by individuals and Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), the actualization of this practice has not been ascertained in Owerri North local government area of Imo state. It is in the light of this backdrop therefore, that this research study intends to investigate the effectiveness of primary healthcare centre-based breastfeeding support programme in promoting exclusive breastfeeding in healthcare centres Owerri north local government area of Imo State.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Maternity and primary health care centres worldwide, Africa inclusive, are established especially for community and local health activities and childbirth practices. They also serve as grassroot mini-hospitals where female health related knowledge is communicated to the people of the community, especially on maternity and childbirth.
In Owerri North local government area of Imo State, there are a lot of government established primary healthcare centres where breastfeeding support program that ought to help in championing the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding. The problem here is that either that the women are not informed on a very warm campaign to promote the practice of exclusive breastfeeding with revealing its benefits on the mother and the child, or the fact that there are no educative programmes being carried out on related issue in the area.
This has limited some people from having the knowledge and practices of exclusive breastfeeding. This and other factors have helped to inform the decision of the researcher to carry out a research study on assessing the effectiveness of primary healthcare centre-based breastfeeding support programs in promoting exclusive breastfeeding in healthcare centre, in Owerri North L.G.A
1.3 Aim of the study
The general purpose of this study is to investigate into the effectiveness of primary healthcare centre-based breastfeeding support programs in promoting exclusive breastfeeding in healthcare centre, in Owerri North L.G.A.
1.4. Objectives of Study
Specifically, the study intends to;
- Find out the usefulness of exclusive breastfeeding on newborn in their first six month of childbirth.
- Investigate the effectiveness of the health primary healthcare centres in the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding in Owerri North L.G.A.
iii. Find out if there are health care center-based support programmess to promote the practices of exclusive breastfeeding in public health centres in Owerri north local government area
- Proffer viable measure on how to promote the practice of exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers in Owerri North local government area of Imo State
1.5. Research questions
- What is the usefulness of exclusive breastfeeding on newborn in their first six month of childbirth?
- What is the extent of effectiveness of primary healthcare centres in the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding in Owerri North L.G.A.?
iii. How often are there primary health care center-based support programmess to promote the practices of exclusive breastfeeding in public health centres in Owerri north local government area?
- What are the viable measures on how to promote the practice of exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers in Owerri North local government area of Imo State?
1.6. Research Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis (H0): Primary healthcare centre-based breastfeeding support programs in promoting exclusive breastfeeding affect the the rate of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in Owerri North L.G.A.
Alternative Hypothesis (H1): Primary healthcare centre-based breastfeeding support programs in promoting exclusive breastfeeding do not affect the the rate of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in Owerri North L.G.A.
1.7. Significance of the Study
This research study will benefit the following people; Nursing mothers, Government and Researchers.
For the Nursing mothers, the result of this study will be very beneficial to them because the findings will help to inform them about the importance of attending health care programmes, as well as getting them to know much of the importance of the different feeding patterns (Exclusive or Partial breastfeeding) and which is the best option to practice in the first 6months of childbirth.
Government will benefit from the result of this study because the findings and result of this study will help to reveal the weakness of most of the public health care centres in operation in owerri north local government area and beyond and will help to inform the government on how to improve on the functionality of those primary health care units within the locality by providing the necessary facilities and amenities so that the quality and standards of the healthcare centres are achieved for quality services.
The Ministry of health will equally benefit from the result of this study because it will help to reveal to the management (Ministry of health) the problems that confront the Successful management of primary health cares and will make them see the need to organize programmes which will aim at education every person within the health centre.
Researchers and students will benefit from this study because the findings and results of this study will be documented to serve as a resource material at the library for students and researchers who will take up research work in future time on related issue.
1.8 Scope and limitation of the study.
This research study is focused effectiveness of primary healthcare centre-based breastfeeding support programs in promoting exclusive breastfeeding in healthcare centre, in Owerri North L.G.A. In carrying out the study, the researcher will focus on the primary health care centres in the area of the study. However, this study was limited by several factors such as the biased nature of respondents to decisively give answers to the provided questions of this study, limited source of information, Time and financial constraints.
1.9 Operational definition of terms
For the purpose of clarifying certain concepts used in the topic of the study, it becomes imperative to define them below;
Primary Healthcare Centre: PHC is a whole-of-society approach to health that aims at ensuring the highest possible level of health and well-being and their equitable distribution by focusing on people’s needs and as early as possible along the continuum from health promotion and disease prevention to treatment, rehabilitation and palliative.
Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding, also called nursing, is the process of feeding a mother’s breast milk to her infant, either directly from the breast or by expressing (pumping out) the milk from the breast and bottle-feeding it to the infant.
Exclusive breastfeeding: An act of feeding a baby with only breast milk, not any other foods or liquids (including infant formula or water), except for medications or vitamin and mineral supplements.
Effectiveness: The degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result; success.
Pages: 65
Category: Project
Format: Word & PDF
Chapters: 1-5
Source: Imsuinfo
Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.
