Incomplete Exclusive Breastfeeding among Women: A Case Study of Darussalam MCH Center in Baidoa, Southwest State of Somalia

Abstract

This study explores the prevalence of incomplete exclusive breastfeeding (IEBF) in the district city of Baidoa in Bay Region, SWSS. The aim of the study is to get insights into the practice and prevalence of incomplete exclusive breastfeeding among mothers, especially a group selected from women who visit the Darussalam MCH center. A mixed methods design was used to collect and analyze questionnaire data. Purposive sampling was employed to obtain data from 25 mothers who had stopped breastfeeding by the time the study was conducted. The study found that the practice is common among internally displaced women living in the IDP camps and their counterpart mothers from the host community in Baidoa. Each of the mothers in the survey has undergone the experience of IEBF with at least one child while one woman admitted that 4 of her babies had experienced termination of breastfeeding before the recommended period of six months. A variety of reasons including illness, divorce, and economic factors were expressed as contributing factors to the occurrences of IEBF among women. A high level of awareness is needed to educate women in particular and society in general about the effect of IEBF on child health in order to avoid the occurrences of preventable diseases caused as a result of the practice.