Knowledge and Practice of Infant Feeding by Nursing Mothers Living with HIV/AIDS Attending University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria

Objective: The increasing rate of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) prevalence and the corresponding risk of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) have created a barrier to some mother’s knowledge and practice towards infant feeding. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice of infant feeding of nursing mothers living with HIV/AIDS. Subjects and Methods: One hundred (100) HIV+ mothers attending the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital were used for this study. Structured and validated questionnaires were used to obtain information on the knowledge and practices of infant feeding. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The result showed that 79% of the mothers agreed that breast milk is the best for babies, while 63% agreed that colostrum protects baby against infections and certain allergies; 11% and 14 % felt it was dangerous and should be discarded, respectively. Only 35% of the mothers indicated that HIV/AIDS mothers could breastfeed their babies, while 58% felt that they should not for various reasons, including the fear of transmission (39%) and death of child (22%). The mothers were aware of the different routes of transmission of HIV to the child. Feeding options of the mothers include breastfeeding only (29%), mixed feeding (16%), replacement feeding (32%) and surrogate mother (9%). Only 14% of the respondents initiated breastfeeding immediately after birth of their babies. Reasons for late onset of breastfeeding include: late let down of breast milk (43%), mother’s ill health (24.4%), Caesarian section (17.4%) and avoidance of giving baby ‘bad milk’ (15%). An equal number of mothers (49%) gave warm water only or warm water with glucose within the first few hours of birth. Conclusion: Proper nutrition education and enforcement of the WHO recommendation on infant feeding options of mothers living with HIV/AIDS is needed to assist the HIV+ mothers to start engaging in proper infant feeding.Key words: Infant feeding practices, HIV positive, nursing mothers, knowledge, perception, Nigeri