Mothers' perceptions of factors contributing to exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months at Mugodeni Grace Health Centre in Limpopo Province

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Exclusive breastfeeding in South Africa to date has not seen progress. The data that is available show that most mothers do initiate breastfeeding immediately after delivery of the baby, but its continuation to the first six months is still a challenge. Although its benefits to the mother and baby are mostly known, it is not translated into positive outcomes as recommended by WHO i.e. to feed the baby with breast milk only, no water, no solids except for medicines that have been prescribed for the first six months. OBJECTIVES: To explore and describe perceptions of breastfeeding mothers regarding factors contributing to exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months at Mugodeni Grace Health centre. METHODS: A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive phenomenological method was used in the study, which was conducted at Mugodeni Grace Health Centre. The convenience sampling strategy was used to recruit participants and the sample size was determined by data saturation. Face-to-face in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants in Xitsonga, using an interview guide and were audio taped with the consent of the participants and transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed using Tesch open coding approach. RESULTS: Three themes and nine subthemes emerged from the data analysis, which includes maternal knowledge of breastfeeding, support systems for exclusive breastfeeding and social and cultural influences leading to non-exclusive breastfeeding CONCLUSION: Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is a societal issue, which need the involvement of society as a whole to perceive it differently for it to be successful, a family-centred approach in which the father has a role to be part of it to assist and support the mother. Continuous support from the family and health facilities by knowledgeable health practitioners is desired. The study revealed that some nurses were practising wrong breastfeeding practices in front of community members. This made mothers to lose confidence in them as people who can be consulted in case of breastfeeding challenges. Cultural beliefs and myths should be handled in a culturally sensitive manner. Working mothers should be taught to negotiate and make a plan for breastfeeding with the employer during pregnancy and to know of their rights at work viii regarding breastfeeding. Mothers should be taught to breastfeed for eight to twelve times per day. They should also be taught about the causes of crying in babies and shown practical skills on how to latch and how to calm the crying baby.