KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES OF EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING AMONG SCHOOL TEACHERS (PRIVATE) IN ALAKUKO AREA, OJOKORO LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAGOS STATE

ABSTRACT This study was carried out to obtain enough and adequate information on the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of EBF among private school teachers in Alakuko, Ojokoro LGA of Lagos State. The study employs cross-sectional descriptive design method to collect information for analysis, using a questionnaire. The target population for this study comprised of (100) respondents in the study area. Primary data includes data which are directly collected from the field using questionnaires. The research instrument used by the researcher in gathering data was questionnaires. These items contained there were validated by the supervisor in charge of the research work. The questionnaire was prepared in such a way that respondents were free to express their opinion in relation to the questions. The findings from this study revealed that most of the respondents reported that they breast fed their babies immediately after delivery. Furthermore, two thirds of mothers practiced exclusive breastfeeding and they all said that babies should be exclusively breastfed for 6months. The respondents have good attitude towards exclusive breastfeeding, but the practice of EBF was not as expected because some of them gave water or herbs during EBF periods while others stopped EBF before 6months which is the recommended time frame for EBF. Also, this study revealed that less than half of the respondents gave water to their babies after breast feeding. Challenges of breastfeeding among women were identified. From this study it can be deduced that most challenging factors of exclusive breastfeeding identify in this study were: health condition of the mother, health condition of the baby and cracked or sore nipples. Among others were: inadequate breast milk, Maternity leave of 3 months is not long enough for successful breastfeeding, and work schedule.