Exclusive Breastfeeding and Its Determinants Among Adolescent Mothers in Kibera Informal Settlement, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is recommended as the optimal way to feed infants (WHO, 2019) Broad objective: To assess the practice of exclusive breastfeeding and its determinants among adolescent mothers in Kibera informal settlement. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used. A sample of 300 adolescent mothers were interviewed together with 10 Key informants. Multistage Sampling was used to select villages and households with adolescent mothers with infants less than 6 months. A questionnaire was used to collect data through face- to- face interviews with adolescent mothers at household level and a key information interview guide was used to collect the qualitative data from healthcare workers at Carolina for Kibera facility that mainly assists in teenage pregnancies. Quantitative data was coded and entered into SPSS software. Appropriate descriptive statistics was carried out for all variables. The qualitative data obtained were analysed according to major themes raised during the interviews. Findings: Most (89%) of the adolescent mothers were unemployed and their mean age was 17 years (±SD= 2.19). Over half (64%) attained secondary as the highest academic level. The mean birth weight of the infants was 2.7kgs (±SD=1.13) and 61% were females. The prevalence rate of exclusive breastfeeding was low at 7.3% while the complementary feeding rate was high at 80.7%; almost half (48.7%) of the infants were being given water and complementary foods like milk (30.3%) and diluted porridge (21%). The variables that were significantly (p<0.05) associated with exclusive breastfeeding were age (χ2=27.992, p=0.006) and knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding (χ2=23,836, p=0.000). Most (80%) of the professionals had been trained for 2 years and above while the remaining 20% had already undergone training for one year and were still enrolled for some more training. Conclusion: The practice of exclusive breastfeeding was low, and many adolescent mothers introduced complementary feeding before six months. Recommendation: Adolescent mothers require support to practice exclusive breastfeeding. Health workers at the facilities level in Kibera should promote health education, among adolescent mothers on exclusive breastfeeding during antenatal visits.