Maternal Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Exclusive Breastfeeding for Babies Aged 0-12 Months at Vemasse Community Health Center"

Abstract

The research aimed to explore the correlation between the understanding and mindset of mothers regarding exclusive breastfeeding. It focused on the Vemasse Community Health Center in Baucau Municipality and involved 60 participants. Quantitative analysis techniques, such as univariate and bivariate analysis supported by SPSS version 23.0 for Windows, were utilized in the study. The findings from the univariate analysis revealed that among all the participants, 35 mothers (58.3%) possessed inadequate knowledge about exclusive breastfeeding, while 25 mothers (41.7%) exhibited sufficient knowledge. In terms of maternal attitude, 33 mothers (55.0%) displayed a negative perspective towards exclusive breastfeeding, while 27 mothers (45.0%) held a positive attitude. Moreover, out of the total respondents, 26 mothers (43.3%) practiced exclusive breastfeeding, while 34 mothers (56.7%) did not adhere to exclusive breastfeeding. Through bivariate analysis employing crosstabs and SPSS version 23.0, the 2-tailed Fisher's Exact Test yielded a significance value of 0.002, which is below 0.05. This result indicates a favorable association between maternal knowledge and the practice of exclusive breastfeeding. Additionally, the Chi-Square test examining the relationship between maternal attitude and exclusive breastfeeding resulted in a significance value of 0.000, also below 0.05. Consequently, it implies that healthcare professionals should actively engage in promoting and advising expectant mothers to maintain exclusive breastfeeding.