Breastfeeding practices among mothers of children aged 1-24 months in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria

Objective: The aim was to determine the breastfeeding practices of mothers of children two years and below in Egor Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo State. Design: This is a community-based descriptive cross-sectional study. Subjects were recruited consecutively by multi-staged sampling technique. A semi-structured researcher-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information from the respondents. Setting: Subjects were from the Edaiken community in Egor LGA State, Nigeria. Subjects: Mother and child pairs were recruited. Outcome measures: The early initiation of breastfeeding rate, prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and the duration of breastfeeding were calculated from the information obtained from the mothers. Factors associated with the practice of early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding were also determined. Results: A total of 186 mothers (44.5%) of the 418 recruited initiated breastfeeding (early) within one hour of delivery. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) was 36.6%. Maternal education was significantly associated with the practice of EBF while maternal age and delivery facility were significantly associated with early initiation of breastfeeding. The median duration of breastfeeding was 15.1 +/- 2.3 months. Conclusion: Less than half of the mothers of children aged 1-24 months in Egor LGA practised early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding. Nutritional education at the community level should be embarked upon by the Local Health Authority of Egor LGA to improve these practices.