Influences of mother's work, childhood place of residence, and exposure to media on breast‐feeding patterns: Experience of Nigeria and Uganda

Abstract

Abstract This study uses data from the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey collected in 1990 and the Ugandan Demographic and Health Survey collected in 1995 to examine the implications of mother's work, childhood place of residence, and exposure to the media for breastfeeding patterns (exclusivity and intensity) in Nigeria and Uganda. Nigeria and Uganda present an interesting contrast because Nigeria is more modernized and economically developed than Uganda, thus providing a good indication of the influence of modernization on breast‐feeding patterns. Mother's work status is defined by considering whether mothers earned cash from work and took their children to work, hence emphasizing the compatibility of work with child care. Work least compatible with child care had a negative effect on breast‐feeding intensity in Nigeria. The negative effect of mother's work on exclusive breast‐feeding (that is, if the mothers used formula or milk instead) observed for some working mothers in Nigeria and Uganda was partly confounded by urban residence, exposure to media, and other socioeconomic factors. Mother's work did not have a negative effect on breast‐feeding intensity in Uganda. The relationship between mother's work, urban residence, media exposure, and breast‐feeding practice seems to be stronger in Nigeria than Uganda.