Cultural Barriers to Exclusive Breastfeeding by Mothers in a Rural Area of Cameroon, Africa
- 8 July 2005
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health
- Vol. 50 (4), 324-328
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmwh.2005.01.005
Abstract
Because of the known nutritional and health benefits to the infant, the World Health Organization recommends that women in resource‐poor countries exclusively breastfeed until their babies reach 6 months of age. In the primarily rural geographical region of the North West Province of Cameroon, previous studies identified the prevalence of breastfeeding to be 90%. It is common knowledge that women are culturally encouraged to mix‐feed their infants, but the extent of these feeding practices is not known. The objective of this study was to identify the extent of mixed feeding/supplementation and the cultural/social barriers to exclusive breastfeeding. All women surveyed introduced water and food supplementation prior to 6 months of age, with more than 38% giving water in the first month of life. Mothers identified cultural factors influencing their decision to mix‐feed their babies, which included 1) pressures by village elders and families to supplement because it is a traditional practice, 2) belief that breast milk is an incomplete food that does not increase the infants weight, 3) belief that all family members should receive the benefit of food grown in the family farm, and 4) the taboo of prohibiting sexual contact during breastfeeding.Keywords
This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
- Role of traditional birth attendants in preventing perinatal transmission of HIV Commentary: Involving traditional birth attendants in prevention of HIV transmission needs careful considerationBMJ, 2002
- Method of feeding and transmission of HIV-1 from mothers to children by 15 months of age: prospective cohort study from Durban, South AfricaAIDS, 2001
- Effect of breastfeeding on infant and child mortality due to infectious diseases in less developed countries: a pooled analysisThe Lancet, 2000
- Effect of breastfeeding on infant and child mortality due to infectious diseases in less developed countries: a pooled analysisThe Lancet, 2000
- Influence of infant-feeding patterns on early mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 in Durban, South Africa: a prospective cohort studyThe Lancet, 1999
- Infant-Feeding Practices and Their Relationship With Diarrheal and Other Diseases in Huascar (Lima), PeruPEDIATRICS, 1989
- EVIDENCE FOR PROTECTION BY BREAST-FEEDING AGAINST INFANT DEATHS FROM INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN BRAZILThe Lancet, 1987