Table 4 Summary of the Key Informant Interviews on the determinants of exclusive breastfeeding

• High knowledge on EBF

• Maternal positive attitude towards exclusive breastfeeding.

• Breastfeeding counselling provided at the health facilities and

• Supportive husband/spouse

• Religious reasons

▪ Negative influence of TBAs

▪ Influence by family/friends and especially grandparents and in-laws

▪ Lack of adequate support from healthcare providers

▪ Negative cultural factors

▪ Lack of support from the fathers/husbands

▪ Peer pressure

▪ Health care providers constraints and shortages

▪ Building skills and capacity of the TBAs and linking them to the health facilities.

▪ Improving capacity of healthcare providers & institutions.

▪ Increasing the number of nurses in the health facilities.

▪ Enforcing the BFHI’s in both the public and private hospitals.

▪ Training and empowering breastfeeding support groups

▪ Training and empowering breastfeeding volunteers and linking them to the health facilities