Prevalence and determinants of breast-feeding among mothers of infants two-three months old attending child health clinics at two health centres in Kingston and St. Andrew and two in St. Ann, Jamaica

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of exclusive breast-feeding has remained below targets established by the Ministry of Health of Jamaica. This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence and determinants of breast feeding among mothers of infants two or three months of age attending child health clinics at two health centres in Kingston and St. Andrew and two in St. Ann. A total of 95 mothers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Two focus group discussions were also conducted. Data from the questionnaire were analyzed in Epi-info version 6.03. The prevalence of breast-feeding was found to be high (90.5 percent) while that of exclusive breast-feeding was low (8.4 percent). Younger women were less likely to breast-feed exclusively. There was no significant association between parity, employment or marital status and exclusive breast-feeding.(AU)