BETWEEN MOTHERS ’ PERCEPTION AND PRACTICE

Although exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for 6 months protects infants from morbidity and growth retardation, 70 % of Bangladeshi mothers introduced non-breast milk foods during the first 6 months of lactation. The aim of our study was to understand mothers ’ decisions related to introduction of non-breast milk foods to 0-6 month old infants. The qualitative study consisted of interviews with 27 women from the participants of Maternal Infant Nutrition Initiative in Matlab (MINIMat), key informant interviews and focus group discussions. We used constant comparative method to analyze data and compared the finding to the framework of theory of breastfeeding self-efficacy. We found that mothers introduced non-breast milk foods intermittently for different reasons but the perception of breast milk inadequacy resulted in early and sustained introduction of non-breast milk foods. Furthermore, mothers ’ experience of breastfeeding was shaped both by the determinants of self-efficacy and contextual factors such perception of breast milk inadequacy, workload and network support. Therefore, ecological theory was more suitable than the theor