ABSTRACT of Master’s Dissertation
No.1
CourseMaster of Public Health

NameHaruna Teraoka

ThesisExploring feeding practices of mothers of children aged 1-2 months in Kwale

Title

County, Kenya

Background: Breastfeeding is said to be optimal nutrition for children. It can help decreasemortality of about 823,000 children under five years of age annually. Although WHO
recommends that babies should receive exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) until six months,
less than 50% of the babies can achieve this target all over the world between 2015 and2020. Although many studies on barriers to conduct EBF have been conducted, little havefocused on the first and second months of postpartum period, where drastic physical andemotional changes are observed in mothers.
Objectives: This study aims to explore the feeding practice of mothers in the first twomonths postpartum, and the factors affected either to continue or stop exclusive
breastfeeding.
Methods : Kinango sub-county, Kwale county, Kenya was selected as the study site.
Mothers who came to Kinango sub-county hospital for vaccination of their infant at six
weeks in April 2022 were recruited. The study was conducted using a semi-structured
interview guide. Interviews were conducted at two different timings: the first session wasaround six weeks of postpartum, and the second was around ten weeks. Of 25 mothers
agreed to participate in this study, two interview sessions were conducted with 24, and one
first session was conducted with one. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, andtranslated into English. Then, practices and perceptions related to infant’s feeding wereanalysed.

Abstract of Master’s Dissertation
No.2
CourseMaster of Public Health

Name

Haruna Teraoka

Results: At six weeks postpartum, all 25 mothers responded that they practiced EBF. At
ten weeks, three mothers said that they started to add complementary food. Other five said
that they plan to add it soon, because they felt that amount of human milk was not
sufficient for their babies. The perception that the child was still too young to havecomplementary food at six weeks, which worked as a barrier. On the other hand, at ten
weeks of age, there was a perception that the child had grown, and it was acceptable to add
complementary food. Twenty-four out of twenty-five mothers knew that breastfeeding up
to six months of age was ideal. However, only five mothers were aware of the risks offeeding complementary foods. Some mothers said they had learnt to make close bodycontact with their child while breastfeeding and hold the breast to avoid suffocating thebaby. Despite EBF until six weeks postpartum, some mothers did not have stable milk
production even ten weeks postpartum.
Conclusion : The mothers remembered most educational content about the ideal durationof full breastfeeding. Twenty-two out of twenty-five mothers said they had received
education on breastfeeding, indicating that knowledge of breastfeeding is becoming moreprevalent in the Kinango sub-county. However, some mothers perceived that human milk
was insufficient, even though they continued EBF. No one added complementary food in
the first 1-2 months postpartum as a cultural practice, and only one person added it on theadvice of a family member. Adding complementary food becomes more acceptable as theinfants get older. In particular, it was suggested that education on breastfeeding techniques
is needed. (Word count 496)