Lockdown-Associated Hunger May Be Affecting Breastfeeding: Findings from a Large SMS Survey in South Africa

Sayed, Nazeeia; Burger, Ronelle; Harper, Abigail; Swart, Rina

doi:10.3390/ijerph19010351

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The major reason women gave for not practicing EBF (mixed feeding prevalence 61%) in the current study was that they perceived that they did not have enough milk. Similar findings were reported in a survey conducted in the Eastern Cape, South Africa ( 21 ). The survey found that early introduction of food, water, and infant formula milk was common despite a high breastfeeding initiation rate ( 21 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Barriers and enablers to exclusive breastfeeding by mothers in Polokwane, South Africa

Makwela,

Mashaba,

Ntimana

et al. 2024

Front. Glob. Womens Health

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BackgroundExclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for six months, with the introduction of appropriate complementary feeding thereafter, and breastfeeding continuing for up to 2 years and beyond, is highly recommended. This could save the lives of up to 1.4 million children each year worldwide. Despite this, breastfeeding rates in South Africa remain sub-optimal, with the recommended target of 50% by the World Health Assembly (WHA) not being achieved. The study aimed to investigate the reasons influencing mothers' practice of exclusive breastfeeding in the Polokwane municipality of Limpopo province in South Africa.MethodologyA cross-sectional health facility-based quantitative and descriptive survey was conducted using a validated-structured questionnaire administered to 146 mothers. The data was analyzed using STATA. Chi-square tests were used to determine the relationship between selected demographic variables and their reasons not to breastfeed exclusively.ResultsAlthough 94% of the mothers had initiated breastfeeding, at the time of data collection 8% had stopped. Of those who had stopped breastfeeding, 5% did so within one month of starting. Thirty- nine percent of mothers' breastfed exclusively, while 61% practiced mixed feeding. A positive association between exclusive breastfeeding practices and the age of the mother were observed, with older mothers more likely to breastfeed. The reasons mothers stopped breastfeeding were: the mother was ill (45%) or they returned to school or work (27%). Reasons for not breastfeeding were cited as: medical conditions, not enough milk, and infant refusal to breastfeed (33%). Mothers believe that HIV-positive women should breastfeed their infants (57%), and health workers were found to be the main source of HIV information to mothers (77%).DiscussionExclusive breastfeeding during the first six months was less practiced. Infant formula and solid foods were introduced at an early age, usually within the first month of breastfeeding. This study sheds light on factors influencing the early initiation of breastfeeding and the practice of EBF as practiced in Polokwane.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Barriers and enablers to exclusive breastfeeding by mothers in Polokwane, South Africa

Makwela,

Mashaba,

Ntimana

et al. 2024

Front. Glob. Womens Health

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“…Preference for home deliveries increased Balogun et al [ 30 ] Challenges in access and satisfaction with reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey PLoS ONE Cross sectional study Nigeria Client satisfaction with reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services The COVID-19 lockdown posed challenges to accessing RMNCH services for many of the women who were surveyed. Overall satisfaction with care was high Sayed et al [ 31 ] Lockdown-associated hunger may be affecting breastfeeding: findings from a large SMS survey in South Africa International journal of environmental research & public health Cross-sectional study South Africa Breastfeeding, maternal depression and hunger Breastfeeding initiation rates was high. There was no association between breastfeeding and depressive symptoms Hailemariam et al [ 32 ] Exploring COVID-19 Related Factors Influencing Antenatal Care Services Uptake: A Qualitative Study among Women in a Rural Community in Southwest Ethiopia Journal of primary care & community health Qualitative study (in-depth interviews and focus group) Ethiopia Antenatal care There was a decline in antenatal care service uptake.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some women could not leave their homes due to the imposed lockdowns or lack of transportation to health care facilities [ 30 ]. One study reported a positive correlation between not attending health clinics and breast feeding [ 31 ]. Pandemic-related anxiety was also highlighted as a reason for delayed care or reduced service utilization by pregnant women and children [ 32 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The direct and indirect impact of COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child health services in Africa: a scoping review

Adu

Stallwood

Adebola

et al. 2022

glob health res policy

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Introduction The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to disrupt the availability and utilization of routine and emergency health care services, with differing impacts in jurisdictions across the world. In this scoping review, we set out to synthesize documentation of the direct and indirect effect of the pandemic, and national responses to it, on maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) in Africa. Methods A scoping review was conducted to provide an overview of the most significant impacts identified up to March 15, 2022. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, HealthSTAR, Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus electronic databases. We included peer reviewed literature that discussed maternal and child health in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic, published from January 2020 to March 2022, and written in English. Papers that did not focus on the African region or an African country were excluded. A data-charting form was developed by the two reviewers to determine which themes to extract, and narrative descriptions were written about the extracted thematic areas. Results Four-hundred and seventy-eight articles were identified through our literature search and 27 were deemed appropriate for analysis. We identified three overarching themes: delayed or decreased care, disruption in service provision and utilization and mitigation strategies or recommendations. Our results show that minor consideration was given to preserving and promoting health service access and utilization for mothers and children, especially in historically underserved areas in Africa. Conclusions Reviewed literature illuminates the need for continued prioritization of maternity services, immunization, and reproductive health services. This prioritization was not given the much-needed attention during the COVID-19 pandemic yet is necessary to shield the continent’s most vulnerable population segments from the shocks of current and future global health emergencies.

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“…Beliefs around insufficient production of breastmilk were linked to limited food availability and inadequacies in maternal dietary intake. In a survey of South Africa women, those ‘who went to bed hungry’ were less likely to breastfeed (Sayed et al, 2021 ). This study is one of the first exploring the profound impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on dietary quality, meal frequency, and quantity of food consumed by pregnant and lactating women in sub‐Saharan Africa.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How COVID‐19 affected food systems, health service delivery and maternal and infant nutrition practices: Implications for moving forward in Kenya

Ahoya¹,

Kavle²,

Kiige³

et al. 2022

Maternal & Child Nutrition

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This implementation research study sought to examine the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on maternal and infant nutrition practices, and related aspects of health and food systems in Nairobi and Uasin Gishu Counties, Kenya. The study triangulated in‐depth interviews with 16 pregnant women, 31 lactating women (including COVID‐19 positive), 10 facility health workers, 10 community health volunteers, 6 focus group discussions (FGDs) with food vendors, 4 FGDs and 15 stakeholder interviews with government and implementing partners. Trends from Kenyan Health Information System indicators (i.e., exclusive breastfeeding and initiation of breastfeeding, antenatal care) were also examined. During the COVID‐19 pandemic, a decline in attendance of antenatal care, and maternity facilities was observed, and corroborated by Kenyan Health Information System data. Lack of clarity among health workers on COVID‐19 breastfeeding guidance and fear of COVID‐19 infection early in the pandemic were key drivers of early infant formula use, mother–child separation following delivery and delayed initiation of breastfeeding. Most women exclusively breastfed due to Government of Kenya restrictions in movement. Unemployment and job loss was linked to food insecurity and worsened by increased food prices and limited social protection measures. In response, pregnant and lactating women resorted to skipping meals and reducing quantity and variety of foods consumed. Efforts to build forward from COVID‐19 in Kenya should include facility and community health education to prevent disruptions in breastfeeding and to support maternal dietary intake, and in the provision of targeted social protection measures alongside other multisectoral interventions (i.e., psychosocial support) for Kenyan pregnant and lactating women.

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Lockdown-Associated Hunger May Be Affecting Breastfeeding: Findings from a Large SMS Survey in South Africa

Cited by 7 publications

References 28 publications

Barriers and enablers to exclusive breastfeeding by mothers in Polokwane, South Africa

Barriers and enablers to exclusive breastfeeding by mothers in Polokwane, South Africa

The direct and indirect impact of COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child health services in Africa: a scoping review

How COVID‐19 affected food systems, health service delivery and maternal and infant nutrition practices: Implications for moving forward in Kenya

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