Breastfeeding Behavior of breastfeeding Mother in Western, Kenya

Health professionals currently use instruction-based approach to promote breastfeeding behavior in postnatal clinics. This practice only imposes messages to these mothers without considering their opinions and beliefs thus posing a challenge to breastfeeding promoters. Hence the desired target of achieving the 4th Millennium Development Goal aimed at reducing the under five mortality rates by 2015 will not be attained. This book provides a sequential exploratory mixed methods design that executed qualitative and quantitative studies conducted in 3 postnatal clinics and 1 home based clinic, and on 230 breastfeeding mothers respectively. Constant Comparative Approach in grounded theory analysis provided a framework of psychosocial factors influencing breastfeeding. Structural Equation Modeling determined the predictive power of these psychosocial factors in influencing breastfeeding behavior. This book provides the latest information on a better approach for health professionals and breastfeeding advertisers to promote optimal breastfeeding through model based educational sessions that will increase initiation, exclusivity and breastfeeding continuation rates.