Back to Page
Authors: Sophia A. Tubera, Melvin Joseph D. Rosal, Zoe O. Stephanson, Kaezzy Ila B. Tabungar, Angelo Joseph Turingan, Kathleen Nicole T. Uy, Jade Louise L. Vibieda, Mary Grace B. Villanueva
Keywords: breastfeeding, breastfeeding practices, social support, lactation, mothers, Manila Philippines
Abstract: In the Philippines, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) remains stagnant with only half of all the neonates being exclusively breastfed (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2013). Social support is one key indicator of a mother’s decision to initiate and continue breastfeeding and has been found to have direct positive outcomes on breastfeeding rates. This research aims to: (1) describe current breastfeeding practices of mothers with young infants; (2) determine knowledge of mothers on breastfeeding; (3) determine the level of social support that mothers receive; (4) determine factors affecting current practice in terms of breastfeeding knowledge and social support; (5) determine factors affecting intention to continue breastfeeding in terms of current practice and social support. This study is a descriptive correlational in nature. Purposive sampling was used and inclusion criteria were: (1) women 18 to 50 years, with infants 1-6 months old who breastfed the infant, and (2) husbands or other family members of mother respondents, 18 years of age or older. The study was done at 5 selected health centers in District V, Manila. A self-administered questionnaire adapted from several breastfeeding tools was utilized to gather data. The target sample size was reached with a total of 205 mothers, 66 husbands, and 42 other family members who participated in the study. Spearman Rho correlation test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal Wallis H tests were utilized to analyze relationships of variables. Results of the study showed that EBF rates (32%) are still low and not at par with WHO target of increasing exclusive breastfeeding among infants younger than 6 months to 50% by the year 2025. The result was consistent with the global EBF rate of only 36% in 2007-2014. The practice of breastfeeding can be associated with different factors that can affect the mother’s ability to breastfeed. Knowledge of mothers on breastfeeding was found to be suboptimal. Social support was found to be high for all mothers, with highest reported support from the health care providers. However, among the three sources of support, only with the husbands was there enough evidence to suggest a relationship between current breastfeeding practices and social support. Despite the high social support provided by the husbands, there were more mothers who did not practice exclusive breastfeeding, which may be attributed to negative support. Social support was also found to influence maternal intention to breastfeed exclusively for six months and continue breastfeeding up to 2 years. Since support has been shown to have a relationship with breastfeeding practice and intention, active involvement of husbands and other family members in the breastfeeding interventions during the antenatal and postnatal period should be encouraged to help correct misconceptions and promote appropriate and adequate breastfeeding support.