A qualitative exploration of the sociocultural determinants of exclusive breastfeeding practices among rural mothers, North West Nigeria

Suboptimal breastfeeding is responsible for 96% of deaths among children under 12 months of age in developing countries. However, the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Nigeria from birth to 6 months is just 23%. The study explored the sociocultural factors that influence exclusive breastfeeding among rural mothers.

The social constructionism-interpretivist epistemological approach underpinned this qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 mothers aged 18–39 years, purposefully sampled from two Local Government Areas in Katsina State, Nigeria. Thematic content approach was utilised for analysis.

Three major themes were developed from the analysis: (1) Breastfeeding initiation – the determinants of how soon a mother initiated breastfeeding included traditional new-born care practices, the birth attendant and place of delivery. (2) Exclusive breastfeeding - motivation to sustain exclusive breastfeeding was influenced by the conflict between the obligation to perform traditional rites, the mother’s awareness and family support. (3) Decision-making about infant feeding – the husband, grandmother, traditional birth attendant and the health workers all influenced participants’ decisions around infant feeding. Despite awareness of the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding among most mothers interviewed, they expressed concerns that they may not win their family’s support if their views were contrary to those held by other family members.

While mothers have limited powers to make decisions, the key role that grandmothers and husbands have in decisions about breastfeeding demonstrates the need to engage the support of partners and relatives through community-driven policies and integrated interventions that address social and cultural barriers throughout the prenatal and postnatal period.