Prevalence Of Early Onset Sepsis In Relation To Exclusive Breast Feeding Among Newborns In Ilorin

Neonatal Septicaemia (NNS) remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. This prospective cross- sectional study was carried out to determine the relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and incidence and outcome of neonatal sepsis in population of Nigerian newborns. Subjects were babies either with clinical features of septicaemia or risk factors for sepsis. Study was over a 1-year period. The breastfeeding status of the babies was ascertained and a single venous sample of 2ml of blood was taken from a peripheral vein, following skin preparation for culture. One hundred and ninety three babies were recruited; of these 65 (33.6 percent) had culture proven septicaemia out of which 36(55.4 percent) babies were exclusively breastfed (EB) and 29 (44.6 percent) were not. In those <72hours of life, fatality was 5.3 percent in the (EB) compared to 34.6 percent in the non-exclusively breastfed (NEB) babies (p<0.0001, OR=9.5). Beyond 72 hours, fatality in the EB group was 15.8 percent and for the NEB 39.4 percent {p=0.024, OR=3.4}. Stratifying by blood culture result, (EB) babies had fatality rate of 13.9 percent while the NEB a fatality of 37.9 percent in the blood culture positive group. (P=0.026; OR=3.7) exclusive breastfeeding was associated with significantly lower prevalence of early onset sepsis and reduced neonatal mortality in study population. Keywords : Neonate, Sepsis and Breast feeding The Tropical Journal of Health Sciences Vol 19 No 1 (January 2012