Knowledge and practice of exclusive breastfeeding

Background: For almost all infants, breastfeeding remains the simplest, healthiest and least expensive feeding method that fulfils the infants ’ needs. Despite strong evidence in support of Exclusive breast feding (EBF) for the first six months of life, its prevalence has remained low worldwide. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study involving women of child bearing age in Kware town of Sokoto State. One in eight samples of 179 mother-child pairs were selected and information regarding their knowledge and practice of exclusive breastfeeding obtained using a set of structured interviewer administered questionnaires. Results: A total of 54(31%) of the mothers had adequate knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding with 94(53%) of them initiating breastfeeding immediately after birth. Only 55(31%) of the mothers practiced exclusive breastfeeding. Out of the 53 mothers that stopped breastfeeding, 85 % of them did so between 16-20months. Conclusion: Although breastfeeding was universal in this community, the knowledge and practice of EBF was low. There is a need to institute interventions aimed at early initiation of breastfeeding and improving the knowledge and practice of EBF towards achieving the goals of MDG-4 in the study community