Mothers’ perception of the use of banked human milk for feeding of the infants

Abstract

Background: Human breast milk is the most healthful form of milk for human babies. Every infant deserves the best possible start in life in terms of nutrition by breastfeeding or receiving donated human milk. Breast milk is very important for the infant’s growth and well-being that the non-availability of the mother should not deprive the infant from its benefits. To enhance the availability and use of human breast milk for hospitalized babies whose mothers may not have enough milk, there is the need to embark on human milk banking.Objective: To determine the perception of mothers towards breast milk banking in Benin City, Nigeria.Subjects and Methods: The study subjects included 198 mothers who brought their babies to Well Baby/Immunization Clinic of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Nigeria. A structured researcheradministered questionnaire was used to assess their biodata, awareness and perception of breast milk banking.Results: The mean age of the mothers was 29.8 ± 5.5 years with 46.5% having some form of tertiary education and 48.5% having secondary education. Only 51 (25.8%) of them had heard of breast milk banking; source of information being mainly from health workers (43.1%) and from friends (27.5%). Majority 168 (84.8%) of the mothers would not give their babies human milk donated by another nursing mother mainly because of fear of transmission of infections/diseases. Most 105 (53.0%) were also unwilling to donate breast milk to be used for other babies due to the fact that they disliked the idea (51.4%) and because of fear of not having enough for their own babies (16.1%). However, most (59.1%) strongly agreed that human milk banking would help assist mothers in need, orphans and abandoned babies.Conclusion/Recommendation: The awareness of human milk banking and its acceptance among mothers in Benin City is poor. The current findings strongly justify the need for public enlightenment on human milk banking and its benefits.Key words: Breast milk banking, mothers, Perception

Enteral Feeding Practices for Very Preterm and Very Low Birth Weight Infants in Nigeria and Kenya

“…Most units started enteral feeding with trophic feeds ranging between 10 and 20 ml/kg/day, with daily advancements of 10–20 ml/kg/day, though there is evidence from developed countries that faster advancement of 30–40 ml/kg/day may be safe and facilitates earlier attainment of full enteral feeds ( 8 , 27 ) few of the units in this survey advanced more than 20 ml/kg/day. The WHO feeding guidelines for preterm infants recommend a daily increase “up to” 30 ml/kg for LMICs ( 14 ) and this may be the reason for the observed practice. The fact that the clinical status of the infants in sSA and the level of monitoring and nursing care might not be similar to those in high income countries, coupled with the suboptimal nutritional, economic and overall conditions of mothers as well as the health system set up ( 28 ) may all intricately interact to interfere with lactation, milk expression and storage and feeding regimens in these units.…”

“…The implementation of recommended strategies is fraught with challenges in the context of resource limitations, a common problem in sSA. Early initiation of enteral feeds and exclusive feeding with breastmilk and fortification of human milk for hospitalized very preterm/VLBW babies is common in high income countries due to the availability of breastmilk banks and fortifiers, which are not available in most centers in sSA ( 14 ). In addition, early parenteral nutrition used in HICs, to provide the necessary nutrients whilst full enteral feeds are established, is not widely available and affordable in most of sSA.…”

Human milk banking acceptability among pregnant and nursing mothers in Southwest Nigeria

“…This is comparable to the 25.8% reported in South-south Nigeria but lower than the 39% reported in south-east Nigeria. 12,18 The suboptimal knowledge is not likely related to maternal education as the majority of participants had post-secondary school education. The lack of HMB practice in Nigeria and neighbouring countries may contribute to the low awareness.…”

“…Less than 50% of participants in this study received information about HMB from healthcare workers, similar to what was reported in a study in Benin. 18 Participants in the study expressed unwillingness to donate breastmilk due to concerns about transmission of diseases or infections and feeling that it was not the right thing to do. This is consistent with similar reports from other countries, such as Kenya.…”

Perception of Donor Breast Milk and Determinants of Its Acceptability amongst Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in a Secondary Facility in South-South Nigeria

“…This is much lower than what has been reported in studies amongst mothers in Turkey, China but similar to what has been reported in some parts of Nigeria. 13,[15][16][17] . The difference in awareness level between mothers in our environment and those cited maybe partly due to less availability and accessibility of electronic media for dissemination of relevant health investigation compared to these countries.…”