Volume 15

INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL FACTORS ON EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING IN BADAGRY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF LAGOS STATE

NA-ALLAH, Ramat Teniola & YUSUF, Fatima

Abstract

The study explored the influence of exclusive breastfeeding on child-rearing practices in the Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State. A descriptive survey research design was employed; all parents in the Badagry local government area, Lagos State, were involved, with 384 respondents randomly sampled. Data were collected using a questionnaire, and both face and content validity were used to examine the reliability; the test-retest method was used and yielded a coefficient of 0.71. Research questions were answered using frequency counts, percentages, and mean values. Hypotheses were tested using a t-test at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that parents' occupation has a low influence on exclusive breastfeeding in the Badagry Local Government Area. Similarly, parents' culture has a low influence on exclusive breastfeeding in the same area.
There was no significant difference in the mean rating of respondents regarding the level of exclusivity.
breastfeeding based on parents' occupation in the Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State (F(3,380) = 1.321, p > 0.05). Likewise, there was no significant difference in the mean rating of respondents regarding the level of exclusive breastfeeding based on parents' culture in the Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State (F(6,380) = 82.661, p > 0.05). It was concluded that there was no significant difference in the mean rating of respondents regarding the level of exclusive breastfeeding based on parents' occupation or culture. Health authorities and community leaders should organize regular awareness campaigns to educate parents about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, irrespective of their occupational or cultural backgrounds.

Keywords

exclusive breastfeeding, child rearing practice, parent, early childhood

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