By Uchenna, Scholastica Chinedu
This study assessed mothers’ knowledge, practice of exclusive breastfeeding and the anthropometric indices of their infants in Aba south local government area, Abia state, Nigeria. Five hundred (500) lactating mother-child pair randomly selected during their postnatal care visit in six out of seventeen health centers in the LGA participated in the study. Ethical clearance was obtained from the chief medical officer in the LGA and mothers’ consent was sought through the clinic head. Interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on the mothers’ socio-economic characteristics, knowledge and practices of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). The anthropometric measurements of the children were taken using standard techniques and indices such as weight-for-age, weight-for length and length-for-age derived. The data obtained from the questionnaire were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version16. The anthropometric indices of the children were compared with reference standards and the children subsequently classified as normal, underweight, stunted, wasted, and overweight. The results obtained showed that 68% of the urban and 53.6% of the rural respondents had adequate knowledge of EBF.