scholarly journals Lockdown-associated Hunger May Be Affecting Breastfeeding: Findings From a Large SMS Survey in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazeeia Sayed ◽  
Ronelle Burger ◽  
Abigail Harper ◽  
Elizabeth C (Rina) Swart
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Health Clinic ◽  
Breastfeeding Initiation ◽  
Early Introduction ◽  
Critical Gap ◽  
Economic Support ◽  
Prevalence Of Depression ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Child Health

Abstract There are growing concerns on the impact of COVID-19 on food security and child health in South Africa. A rapid SMS Maternal and Child Health survey was conducted in South Africa in June (n=3140) with a follow up in July (n=2287). Breastfeeding practices found in this survey confirmed findings from other studies: with high breastfeeding initiation rates and early introduction of other foods/mixed milk feeding. Logistic regression was conducted to explore the associations between breastfeeding, maternal depression and hunger in the household. The odds of hungry mothers breastfeeding were significantly lower (OR = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.99). The prevalence of depression in this survey sample was 26.95%, but there was no association between breastfeeding behaviour and depression scores (OR = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.63, 1.27). A positive correlation was found between not breastfeeding and not going to the health clinic. Breastfeeding needs to be protected, promoted and supported; and mothers should be encouraged to continue to attend the health clinic. Further to communication to communities, supporting the breastfeeding mother to enable her to breastfeed and feel competent to do so is a critical gap that needs to be addressed. This support could include economic support to enable her to access a nutritious diet. Mothers also need reassurance on the quality of their breastmilk and their ability to breastfeed. Aside from the nutritional superiority, the safety and immune benefits of breastmilk may need to be asserted to counter concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Lockdown-Associated Hunger May Be Affecting Breastfeeding: Findings from a Large SMS Survey in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 351
Author(s):  
Nazeeia Sayed ◽  
Ronelle Burger ◽  
Abigail Harper ◽  
Elizabeth Catherina Swart
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Health Clinic ◽  
Breastfeeding Initiation ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Early Introduction ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Child Health

The impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had, and will continue to have, on food security and child health is especially concerning. A rapid, Short Message Service (SMS) Maternal and Child Health survey was conducted in South Africa in June 2020 (n = 3140), with a follow-up in July 2020 (n = 2287). This was a national cross-sectional survey conducted among pregnant women and mothers registered with the MomConnect mhealth platform. Logistic regression was conducted to explore the associations between breastfeeding, maternal depressive symptoms, and hunger in the household. High breastfeeding initiation rates and the early introduction of other foods or mixed milk feeding were found. The prevalence of depressive symptoms in this survey sample was 26.95%, but there was no association between breastfeeding behaviour and depressive symptom scores (OR = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.63, 1.27). A positive correlation was found between not breastfeeding and not going to the health clinic. The odds of hungry mothers breastfeeding were significantly lower (OR = 0.66; p = 0.045). This result also holds in a multivariate framework, including covariates such as depressive symptoms, attendance of a PHC facility, and whether the infant was older than 3 months. Support for breastfeeding must include support, such as economic support, for breastfeeding mothers, to enable them to access nutritious diets. Mothers also need reassurance on the quality of their breastmilk and their ability to breastfeed and should be encouraged to continue to attend the health clinic regularly.

Maternal and child health nurses’ experiences of implementing two community-based breastfeeding interventions in Victoria, Australia: A mixed methods process evaluation

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhian L Cramer ◽  
Helen L McLachlan ◽  
Touran Shafiei ◽  
Lisa H Amir ◽  
Meabh Cullinane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Maternal And Child Health ◽  
Randomised Trial ◽  
Cluster Randomised Trial ◽  
Breastfeeding Initiation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Breastfeeding Support ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Significant Drop ◽  
And Child Health

Despite high rates of breastfeeding initiation in Australia, there is a significant drop in breastfeeding rates in the early postpartum period, and Australian government breastfeeding targets are not being met. The Supporting breastfeeding In Local Communities (SILC) trial was a three-arm cluster randomised trial implemented in 10 Victorian local government areas (LGAs). It aimed to determine whether early home-based breastfeeding support by a maternal and child health nurse (MCH nurse) with or without access to a community-based breastfeeding drop-in centre increased the proportion of infants receiving ‘any’ breast milk at four months. Focus groups, a written questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore the interventions from the perspective of the SILC-MCH nurses (n=13) and coordinators (n=6), who established and implemented the interventions. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify themes, then findings further examined using Diffusion of Innovations Theory as a framework. SILC-MCH nurses and coordinators reported high levels of satisfaction, valuing the opportunity to improve breastfeeding in our community; and having focused breastfeeding time with women in their own homes. They felt the SILC interventions offered benefits to women, nurses and the MCH service. Implementing new interventions into existing, complex community health services presented unforeseen challenges, which were different in each LGA and were in part due to the complexity of the individual LGAs and not the interventions themselves. These findings will help inform the planning and development of future programs aimed at improving breastfeeding and other interventions in MCH.

Flooding: what is the impact on pregnancy and child health?

Disasters ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 432-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea H. Mallett ◽  
Ruth A. Etzel
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Child Health

scholarly journals Community involvement in reproductive health: Findings from research in Karnataka, India

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
Child Health Services ◽  
Reproductive And Child Health ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Child Health

In 1996, the government of India decided to provide a package of reproductive and child health services through the existing family welfare program, adopting a community needs assessment approach (CNAA). To implement this approach, the government abolished its practice of setting contraceptive targets centrally and introduced a decentralized planning strategy whereby health workers assessed the reproductive health needs of women in their respective areas and prepared local plans to meet those needs. They also involved community leaders to promote community participation in the reproductive and child health program. Since 1998, several evaluation studies have assessed the impact of CNAA on the program’s performance and community participation. These studies showed that the performance of the maternal health-care program improved, whereas the functioning of the family planning program initially declined but later recovered. The approach achieved little in boosting community involvement. This project tested a new model of health committee to help stimulate community participation in reproductive and child health activities at the village level. The experiment, described in this report, was conducted in the Hunsur block of the Mysore District in Karnataka for two years. Researchers evaluated the impact in terms of community involvement and utilization of reproductive and child health services.

scholarly journals Breastfeeding initiation and duration and child health outcomes in the first baby study

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista L. Pattison ◽  
Jennifer L. Kraschnewski ◽  
Erik Lehman ◽  
Jennifer S. Savage ◽  
Danielle Symons Downs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Breastfeeding Initiation ◽  
Child Health Outcomes ◽  
And Child Health

The Impact of Maternal Health Care Utilization on Probability of Child Survival in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1006-1014
Author(s):  
Ajit Kumar Jaiswal
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Maternal And Child Health ◽  
Child Survival ◽  
Nutrient Deficiency ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Care Utilization ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Child Health

Maternal and child health programmes plays a key role in reducing infant and child mortality in any population. The Government of India started maternal and child health care services in the first five year plan (1951-56). This study uses data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS, 2015-16). We are interested to examine the effect of child delivery at a healthcare facility, on child survival. We are followed by Mosley and Chen’s framework (1884), according to the framework, several socioeconomic determinants are grouped into some categories, namely, maternal, environmental contamination, nutrient deficiency, and personal illness control. Consequently, we reduced the number of independent variables to women’s age at birth and education, birth order, low child birth weight, household wealth, and healthcare.

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