Indigenous Breastfeeding Practices among Lactating Women in the Builsa North District

Abstract

Optimal breastfeeding is the most preferred means of feeding infants most especially babies below six months of age. This ideal practice, however, has eluded some babies in certain communities in Ghana due to various traditional beliefs and practices. The Theory of Reasoned Action guided this study to explore the indigenous breastfeeding (IBF) practices among lactating women in Northern Ghana. The study employed a qualitative exploratory descriptive design. Fifteen (15) lactating mothers were purposively sampled from the Siniensi community to participate in the study. Data was obtained from the participants through individual face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. All interviews were audio taped, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic content analysis. Seven major themes emerged from the data which included; beliefs about IBF practices, opinions of referent others, motivation of lactating mothers to comply with the practice, attitude towards the behaviour, subjective norms about the behaviour, intentions of lactating mothers about the behaviour and knowledge deficit about exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) practices. The findings of the study established that lactating mothers categorised their beliefs about IBF practices into beliefs before the initiation of breastfeeding (BF), beliefs during the period of BF and beliefs about experts’ advice. These findings suggest that IBF practices are difficult to avoid because of cultural beliefs. Findings of this study have implications for nursing practice and future research.