Exclusive Breastfeeding and Its Determinants Among Adolescent Mothers in Kibera Informal Settlement, Nairobi County, Kenya

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is recommended as the optimal way to feed infants (WHO,2019). The study sought to assess the practice of exclusive breastfeeding and its determinants among adolescent mothers in Kibera informal settlement. A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used. A sample of 300 adolescent mothers were interviewed together with 10 Key informants. Multistage Sampling was the technique used to select villages and households with adolescent mothers with infants less than 6 months. A questionnaire was used to collect data through face-to-face interviews with adolescent mother and key Information Interview guide was used to collect the qualitative data from health care workers at Carolina For Kenya facility. Quantitative data was coded, entered into SPSS software. Descriptive statistics was carried out for all variables whereby categorical variables were evaluated using percentages and frequencies. The chi-square test was applied at a bivariate level to assess relationships associated with exclusive breastfeeding. Significance levels were set at α=0.05. The qualitative data obtained were analyzed according to major themes raised during the interviews. The findings were that most (89%) of the adolescent mothers were unemployed and their mean age was 17 years (±SD= 2.19). More than a half (64%) attained secondary as the highest academic level. The mean birth weight of the infants was 2.7kgs (±SD=1.13) and 61% were females. The prevalence rate of exclusive breastfeeding was low 7.3% while complementary feeding rate was high at 80.7%, Almost half (48.7%) of the infants were being given water and complementary foods like milk (30.3%) and dilute porridge (21%). The variables that were significantly (p<0.05) associated with exclusive breastfeeding were age (χ2=27.992, p=0.006) and knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding (χ2=23,836, p=0.000). Most (80%) of the professionals had been trained for 2 years and above while the remaining 20% had already undergone training for one year and were still enrolled for some more training. The practice of exclusive breastfeeding was low and many adolescent mothers introduced complementary feeding before six months.