EXCLUSIVE BREAST FEEDING PRACTICE

Introduction: Breastfeeding is a basic human activity, vital to infant and maternal health and of immense economic value to households and societies. The WHO recommends that for the first six months of life, infants should be exclusively breastfed to achieve optimal growth, development, and health. Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF) is defined as infant feeding with human milk without the addition of any other liquids or solids. The benefits of breast-feeding, to both mother and baby, have long been recognized. Despite strong evidences in support of EBF for the first six months of life, its prevalence has remained low worldwide and it is estimated that only about one-third of infants were exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life. Method: The method used database journals in PubMed, ProQuest and Cochrane that used the keywords; after the data obtained was reviewed journal research was conducted. Search result found 116 journals but in accordance with the topic was 5 journal with a span of 2015 – 2016. Result: breastfeeding promotion interventions in developing countries have been shown to result in a six fold increase in exclusive breastfeeding rates at six months. Educational status, age, antenatal and postnatal follow up, resident and place of delivery were predictors of suboptimal breastfeeding. Integrated and targeted interventions were recommended to achieve a better outcome in minimizing the late initiation, non-exclusive and early cessation of breastfeeding. Conclusion: A greater understanding of barriers to initiating and sustaining breastfeeding, some of which are socio-economic-specific, may assist in reducing inequalities in infant breast-feeding. The level of exclusive breast-feeding was low. Thus, it is important to provide prenatal education to mothers and fathers on breast-feeding. And recommend strengthening the public health education campaigns to promote exclusive breast-feeding. Keywords: Exclusive breastfeeding, breast feeding practice