Table 4.
Maternal attitudes towards breastfeeding
| Primiparous (n = 137) | Multiparous (n = 144) | χ2 (p - value) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aspects of Attitude | Agree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Disagree | Neutral | p - value | ||||||
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | ||
| Believe that EBF is beneficial to the child | 130 | 94.9 | 6 | 4.4 | 1 | 0.7 | 137 | 95.1 | 5 | 3.5 | 2 | 1.4 | 0.46 |
| The age of the mother influences her ability to EBF | 107 | 78.1 | 20 | 14.6 | 10 | 7.3 | 104 | 72.2 | 21 | 14.6 | 19 | 13.2 | 0.28 |
| A baby can survive without water | 89 | 65.0 | 41 | 29.9 | 7 | 5.1 | 92 | 63.9 | 42 | 29.2 | 10 | 6.9 | 0.52 |
| Husbands should be involved in decision making on whether to EBF | 68 | 49.6 | 56 | 40.9 | 13 | 9.5 | 75 | 52.1 | 55 | 38.2 | 14 | 9.7 | 0.35 |
| Animal milk is suitable for a new born baby | 74 | 54.0 | 51 | 37.2 | 12 | 8.8 | 61 | 42.4 | 63 | 43.8 | 20 | 13.9 | 0.06 |
| Breast milk is inadequate for babies 2 months or older | 73 | 53.3 | 51 | 37.2 | 13 | 9.5 | 80 | 55.6 | 57 | 39.6 | 7 | 4.9 | 0.52 |
| Formula feeding is better choice for working mothers | 38 | 27.7 | 87 | 63.5 | 12 | 8.8 | 56 | 38.9 | 77 | 53.5 | 11 | 7.6 | 0.03 |
| Breastfed babies are healthier than fed babies | 120 | 87.6 | 12 | 8.8 | 5 | 3.6 | 114 | 79.2 | 19 | 13.2 | 11 | 7.6 | 0.06 |
| Breast milk is more easily digested than formula | 118 | 86.1 | 13 | 9.5 | 6 | 4.4 | 110 | 76.4 | 21 | 14.6 | 13 | 9.0 | 0.04 |
| Infant cannot survive without water besides breast milk | 56 | 40.9 | 73 | 53.3 | 8 | 5.8 | 56 | 38.9 | 75 | 52.1 | 13 | 9.0 | 0.50 |
| Number of times a mother has given birth will influence her ability to EBF | 12 | 8.8 | 81 | 59.1 | 7 | 5.1 | 17 | 11.8 | 76 | 52.8 | 4 | 2.8 | 0.44 |