Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Introduction: Exclusive breastfeeding for six months, with introduction of appropriate complimentary feeding at six months, continuing to 2 years and beyond comes highly recommended. Although breastfeeding rates have improved in South Africa, the prevalence still remains lower than the Rome target of 50%, supporting investigation into factors that influence infant feeding practices. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe infant feeding practices and to determine the factors influencing infant feeding practices of mothers and care givers of infants in the Polokwane Municipality - Limpopo Province. Methods: A cross-sectional health facility-based quantitative and descriptive survey was conducted using a validated-structured questionnaire. Interviews only were conducted to gather quantitative data. The questionnaires were administered to the mothers, one mother at a time. Chi–square tests were used to determine the relationship between selected variables, where p<0.05 was set as level of significance. Results: A total of 146 mothers participated in the study. All were biological mothers of infants. Ninety-four percent of the mothers initiated breastfeeding, however, at the time of data collection 8% of mothers had stopped. Of those who had stopped breastfeeding, 5% stopped earlier than one month after initiation. Thirty-nine percent of mothers breastfed exclusively, while 61% practiced mix feeding. A positive association between breast feeding practices and age of the mother (p<0.036) was observed. The reasons mothers reported for stopping breastfeeding were: mother was ill (45.4%) and going back to school or work (27.3%). Reasons for not breastfeeding were cited as: medical condition, not enough milk and infant refusal to breastfeed at 33.3%. Health workers are the main source of HIV information (77%). Mothers believe that HIV-positive women should breastfeed their infants (57%). Conclusion: breastfeeding initiation is well practiced. Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months is rarely practiced. Infant formula and solid foods were introduced at an early age. Young mothers tend to stop exclusive breastfeeding compared to older mothers.

Thesis (MPH. ) --University of Limpopo, 2014 / The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and practices of mothers with regard to exclusive breastfeeding in the Mahwelereng Local Area of the Waterberg District, Limpopo Province. A quantitative study was conducted by using a researcher-administered structured questionnaire at six clinics in the Mahwelereng Local Area. A simple random sampling method was used to select the hundred and seventy five mothers who had babies of less than six months old from whom data was collected. Data was analysed with the assistance of the statistician by using the SPSS software program. Data is presented applying descriptive and inferential statistics. Less than half (74; 42.3%) of the responding mothers were practising exclusive breastfeeding despite the fact that 137 (78.3%) of them were given information about exclusive breastfeeding. There is an association between knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding (Chi-Square= 14.039; Sig=0.000 p<0.05) and exclusive breastfeeding practice. There is no association between exclusive breastfeeding practice and HIV status (Chi-Square=2.444; Sig=0.118; p>0.05). Challenges that mothers faced in relation to practising exclusive breastfeeding were work-related, school-related, health-related, pressure from family to mix-feed, and a lack of knowledge. However, 42.9% of the respondents indicated that they did not have any challenges with regard to the practice of breastfeeding. It was, therefore, recommended that one-on-one counselling about exclusive breastfeeding needs to be intensified and maternity leave should be extended to six months. The majority of respondents showed adequate knowledge of what exclusive breastfeeding was because they were counselled about breastfeeding although they were not practising it. Key words: Exclusive breastfeeding, mothers, knowledge, practices, mix-feeding.

Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / BACKGROUND: Exclusive breastfeeding in South Africa to date has not seen progress. The data that is available show that most mothers do initiate breastfeeding immediately after delivery of the baby, but its continuation to the first six months is still a challenge. Although its benefits to the mother and baby are mostly known, it is not translated into positive outcomes as recommended by WHO i.e. to feed the baby with breast milk only, no water, no solids except for medicines that have been prescribed for the first six months. OBJECTIVES: To explore and describe perceptions of breastfeeding mothers regarding factors contributing to exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months at Mugodeni Grace Health centre. METHODS: A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive phenomenological method was used in the study, which was conducted at Mugodeni Grace Health Centre. The convenience sampling strategy was used to recruit participants and the sample size was determined by data saturation. Face-to-face in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants in Xitsonga, using an interview guide and were audio taped with the consent of the participants and transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed using Tesch open coding approach. RESULTS: Three themes and nine subthemes emerged from the data analysis, which includes maternal knowledge of breastfeeding, support systems for exclusive breastfeeding and social and cultural influences leading to non-exclusive breastfeeding CONCLUSION: Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is a societal issue, which need the involvement of society as a whole to perceive it differently for it to be successful, a family-centred approach in which the father has a role to be part of it to assist and support the mother. Continuous support from the family and health facilities by knowledgeable health practitioners is desired. The study revealed that some nurses were practising wrong breastfeeding practices in front of community members. This made mothers to lose confidence in them as people who can be consulted in case of breastfeeding challenges. Cultural beliefs and myths should be handled in a culturally sensitive manner. Working mothers should be taught to negotiate and make a plan for breastfeeding with the employer during pregnancy and to know of their rights at work viii regarding breastfeeding. Mothers should be taught to breastfeed for eight to twelve times per day. They should also be taught about the causes of crying in babies and shown practical skills on how to latch and how to calm the crying baby.