Knowledge and Attitude of Male Staff in a Nigerian Tertiary Institution towards Infant Feeding

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of Nigerian men working in a tertiary institution toward infant feeding.

Study Design: The study was cross sectional in design.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria between April 2013 and May 2013.

Methodology: A pretested, self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on the socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and attitude of 170 male staff of the University of Ibadan regarding infant feeding. Knowledge questions and attitude statements were scored and categorized as adequate or inadequate knowledge; positive and negative attitude. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and association between knowledge and attitude was analyzed using chi square test with level of significant set at P<0.05.

Results: The mean age of the men was 41±9 years and a large proportion (87.6%) was married. The respondents were largely (75.9%) non-academic staff. About two-third (67.6%) of the men had poor infant feeding knowledge while three out of ten had good knowledge. Most of the men (76.5%) had negative attitude towards infant feeding while only two out of ten men had positive attitude. Three-quarters (75.7%) of men with poor infant feeding knowledge had negative attitude towards infant feeding while only 2 out of every 10 men with adequate infant feeding knowledge had positive attitude towards infant feeding. However, no significant association was reported between the knowledge and attitude of respondents toward infant feeding (P=.72).

Conclusion: Poor infant feeding knowledge and negative attitude towards infant feeding exhibited by men is of great concern. Intervention should therefore be targeted towards improving the breastfeeding knowledge and attitude of male partners especially those working in tertiary academic institutions.