Predictors Of Exclusive Breast-Feeding Among Women In Formal Employment Attending Child Welfare Clinic At Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching And Referral Hospital

ABSTRACT

Breast-feeding lays the foundation for healthy growth and child development.

Despite the documented benefits of exclusively breast-feeding, studies have found

that several predictors influence the duration of breast-feeding and few researches

have assessed the predictors of exclusive breast-feeding among women informal

employment in Kenya. The objective of this study was to determine the predictors of

exclusive breast-feeding among mothers in formal employment attending child

welfare clinic at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital

(JOOTRH). Descriptive analytical cross-sectional design was used in the study.

Three hundred and ninety-one (391) women in formal employment with infants aged

one year and below were purposively sampled. Fifty-one (51%) of the women in

formal employment were practicing EBF. The study identified three elements as

predictors of EBF; respondents who were more knowledgeable on the benefits of

EBF to the mother (aOR=3.22, 95% CI [1.63-6.35], p-0.001) were 3 times more

likely to EBF while those who delivered in public hospitals (aOR=12.48, 95%CI

[1.46-10.7], p-0.021) were 12 times more likely to EBF than those that delivered in

private hospitals. The study also revealed that women who were more

knowledgeable on risks of failure to EBF their babies had higher odds of EBF

(aOR=4.10, 95% CI [2.07-8.12], p

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