CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In many African households, notably in Nigeria, new born children are less likely to be exclusively breastfed by their moms. According to a news source, there are a variety of reasons why moms do not exclusively breastfeed; among them are twin births, myths about losing sexual appeal, sagging breasts, and the risk of infecting their newborn children with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). (Sina, 2016; Business Hallmark Newspaper, 2015). Other factors that may deter mothers from exclusively breastfeeding include the fact that nursing moms are unlikely to remain exclusively breastfeeding for more than six months, and the effect of loved ones such as elderly grandmothers on the mother’s exclusive breastfeeding practice.
This is due to their insistence on traditional techniques such as discarding colostrums, giving newborns water, animal milk, pap, infant formula, honey, herbal concoctions, and washings from allegedly therapeutic quoranic inscriptions (Agunbaide & Ogunleye, 2012; Moisse, 2011; Umar & Oche, 2013). These practices can cause a newborn to become malnourished, and if they are not appropriately controlled, they can potentially result in death.
Inappropriate breastfeeding practices contribute significantly to the high death rate among infants under the age of five, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2003). In a similar spirit, at the celebration of World Nursing Week in Abuja, Veneman (2008) collaborated on this, defining breastfeeding as a significant instrument in enhancing child survival in this world. Nigeria has the highest proportion of stunted children on the continent, and ranks third globally, with over 10 million stunted children, according to a Nigeria demographic health study conducted in 2008. Stunting, according to Alexandra (2016), is the primary sign of malnutrition. In Niger state, stunting is fairly common. He further revealed that 34 percent of children under the age of five years in Niger state are stunted, 11 percent are underweight, and 18 percent are wasting. This suggests that in Niger state, a substantial percentage of children under the age of five are malnourished. This could be due to the fact that they were not exclusively nursed by their mothers; because breast milk provides all of the nutrients required, malnutrition develops. According to a report by the Summary of Child Survival Partnership (2008), Nigeria is one of the six nations responsible for half of all child deaths worldwide, with one million children under the age of five dying each year. In addition, according to a 2011 report published by the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria, malnutrition is responsible for more than a third (35%) of neonatal fatalities. This means that babies who are malnourished as a result of inadequate nursing are more likely to die. This could explain why the under-five mortality rate in Niger is 123 per 1000 live births (Alexandra, 2016). Malnutrition is a cause of child mortality, according to Isaiah (2015), who claims that malnutrition is responsible for more than half of all deaths in children under the age of five.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, solely nursing children for the first six months of their life can avoid 13 percent of the 10 million deaths of children in the 42 nations that account for 90 percent of child mortality worldwide (UNICEF, 2005). To reduce child mortality, the government must make concerted measures to guarantee that mothers exclusively breastfeed their infants.
The government and the WHO have taken efforts to keep neonatal malnutrition to a minimum. This coincides with World Breastfeeding Week. The week is an annual festival that takes place in over 120 countries from August 1 to 7. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action first commemorated it in 1992. (WABA).
According to a Nursing World (2016) article, Nigeria is one of the countries that celebrates World Breastfeeding Week; the week is spent promoting exclusive breastfeeding and warning against the dangers of formula feeding. Many mothers are educated about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding as a result of such programs. Flyers, stickers, and handbills about breastfeeding were distributed during the breastfeeding campaign, according to Brikins (2016). This demonstrates that moms have been given information about exclusive breastfeeding.
Exclusive breastfeeding, according to Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health (2011), refers to exclusively feeding babies breast milk, without giving them water, herbal mixes, or other liquids or foods. Vitamins, minerals supplements, and medicines, on the other hand, can be given when they are prescribed. Additionally, exclusive breastfeeding refers to the infant or newborn receiving just breast milk. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), exclusive breastfeeding should not be coupled with any other food while it is being practiced. Breast milk is the only source of nutrition for a baby who is exclusively breastfed. Exclusive nursing, according to Veneman (2008), means that the newborn is fed only breast milk and no other liquid or solid, with the exception of medicines. On events such as World Nursing Week, the necessity of exclusive breastfeeding is emphasized. Exclusive breastfeeding, according to UNICEF (2015), has a positive impact on a child’s nutrition. As part of its efforts to honor “breastfeeding week,” the United Nations Children’s Fund in Nigeria welcomed media to Kano. It requested media aid in raising awareness of the Nigerian child malnutrition epidemic among authorities and other stakeholders. Porter (2015), the UNICEF Chief of Communication, asked for increased media activism on child nutrition in Nigeria in her remarks. Media attempts in the past have been successful, according to Porter. This was based on a number of media campaigns in Nigeria that included issues such as breastfeeding and childcare, women nursing, the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, and new-born health. The media and other information sources have been utilized to convey the value of exclusive nursing to children in electronic, print, and voice formats. Nursing mothers are constantly reminded of the necessity of exclusive breastfeeding by a variety of information sources, including the media. Because there have been few systematic, large-scale media programs to promote breastfeeding, the entire potential of mass media to promote breastfeeding remains untapped and thus unclear. Nursing promotion initiatives, it has been shown, are designed to address three types of factors that influence breastfeeding practices: 1) negative public perceptions of breastfeeding; 2) lack of awareness of specialized breastfeeding skills such as proper positioning of the baby on the breast and increased milk production; and 3) social norms that regard nursing as an atypical behavior (Cynthia, 1989). This demonstrates that in order for information source campaigns to be effective, they must include a broad range of breastfeeding issues and not be limited in scope. One of the lessons learned from breastfeeding campaigns, according to Cynthia (1989), is that generic statements extolling the benefits of nursing are ineffective because they do not address the key barriers to good breastfeeding practice. Instead of irregular, short-term efforts, successful breastfeeding programs use mass media as part of a long-term promotion plan. A change in group norms in favor of nursing, which some experts say is the most important element influencing breastfeeding practices, cannot be accomplished by a short media campaign. Similarly, specific breastfeeding skills and advice must be available on an ongoing basis; new women are always giving birth. As the world changes, new challenges about the practice of exclusive nursing emerge, and media campaigns promoting exclusive breastfeeding should be ready to address these concerns. In agreement with Cynthia, Joan (2016) stated that the factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding are changing. Breastfeeding women were once encouraged to breastfeed their infants wherever they were needed, but it now seems uncultured to do so in public settings such as markets and offices.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Mothers have received knowledge about exclusive breastfeeding and its importance over time from a variety of sources, including the media, the internet, interpersonal sources, and information education products. As agreed by experts, exclusive breastfeeding has been shown to treat the problem of malnutrition, which is a factor influencing infant mortality (Mde 2011; Lloyd, 2011, Save the children 2012). Stakeholders have put in a lot of effort to ensure that nursing mothers exclusively nurse their babies. The impact of information sources on knowledge, attitude, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among nursing women in Minna, Niger state was investigated in this study.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The major goal of this study was to see how information sources influenced nursing mothers’ knowledge, attitude, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding in Minna, Niger State. The following are the precise goals:
1. Determine the sources of information about exclusive breastfeeding for nursing mothers;
2. determine whether respondents in Minna, Niger State, are aware of exclusive breastfeeding;
3. find out how people in Minna, Niger State, feel about exclusive breastfeeding;
4. determine whether respondents in Minna, Niger State, practice exclusive breastfeeding;
5. investigate the impact of intervening demographic characteristics on respondents’ exclusive breastfeeding practices in Minna, Niger State, such as age, religion, academic qualification, work level, and marital status.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What are the sources of information about exclusive breastfeeding for nursing women in Minna, Niger State?
2. What is the respondents’ understanding about exclusive breastfeeding in Minna, Niger State?
3. What is the attitude of respondents in Minna, Niger State, toward exclusive breastfeeding?
4. What is the practice of respondents in Minna, Niger State, when it comes to exclusive breastfeeding?
5. How do intervening demographic characteristics including age, religion, academic qualification, employment situation, and marital status influence respondents in Minna, Niger State’s practice of exclusive breastfeeding?
6. Do exclusive breastfeeding information sources have a substantial impact on exclusive breastfeeding knowledge?
7. Do exclusive breastfeeding information sources have a substantial impact on exclusive breastfeeding attitudes?
8. Do exclusive breastfeeding information sources have a substantial impact on exclusive breastfeeding practice?
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
H01: Respondents’ attitudes on exclusive breastfeeding will not be significantly changed by their information sources’ understanding of exclusive breastfeeding.
H02: Respondents’ exclusive breastfeeding practices will be unaffected by their knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding gained from these information sources.
H03: Exclusive breastfeeding information sources have no substantial impact on exclusive breastfeeding knowledge.
H04: Exclusive breastfeeding information sources have no substantial impact on attitudes toward exclusive nursing.
H05: Exclusive breastfeeding information sources have no substantial impact on exclusive breastfeeding practice.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Stakeholders such as media organizations, governments, healthcare systems, World Health Organizations, and the United Nations Children’s Fund will benefit greatly from the contributions and outcomes of this study. It was an assessment of how much effort these stakeholders had put in to guarantee that mothers adopted exclusive breastfeeding. It is likely to serve as a roadmap for future studies on the influence of mass media on knowledge, attitude, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding for mass media experts. It also educated journalists on the best way for influencing mothers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices around exclusive breastfeeding.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The focus of this study was on the impact of information sources on nursing mothers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards exclusive breastfeeding in Minna, Niger State. The study did not focus just on the reasons why women do not practice exclusive breastfeeding; rather, it looked at the impact of a variety of information sources on nursing mothers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding in Minna, Niger State.
From January 31 to March 31, 2017, the research was carried out in the capital of Niger State, Niamey. It was confined to Minna, the capital, because it was there that we could discover a diverse group of nursing moms with various characteristics such as educational attainment, employment status, and marital status, all of which contributed to the study’s population being fair.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
This is a list of operational definitions for terminology used in this investigation.
1. Influence: The term influence is used in this study to refer to the ability to modify something in some way. In Minna, Niger State, the power of information sources to change exclusive breastfeeding knowledge, attitude, and practice among mothers.
2. Information Source: The term “information source” is used in this study to refer to all forms of exclusive breastfeeding communication sources. This includes print and electronic media, interpersonal sources, new media, brochures, fliers, and other methods used to spread information on exclusive breastfeeding.
3. Knowledge: The term “knowledge” is employed in this study to describe awareness and comprehension of information about something.
4. Attitude: In this research, the phrase refers to a person’s attitude about something. That is the positive and negative thoughts that nursing mothers in Minna have towards exclusive breastfeeding.
5. Practice: In this study, the term “practice” refers to mothers in Minna’s continuous practice of exclusive breastfeeding, which encompasses both devoted and negligent exclusive breastfeeding. The information sources messages that encouraged nursing moms to continue exclusively breastfeeding will be used to assess practice.
6. Exclusive nursing refers to an infant receiving solely breast milk in this study. With the exception of oral rehydration solution or drops of vitamin, mineral, or pharmaceutical syrups, no other liquids or solids, including water, are provided. In exclusive breastfeeding, the mother is the only one who feeds the baby.
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