Table 3 Facilitators of breastfeeding
Themes | Codes | Quotations | Data source (# of times mentioned) |
|---|---|---|---|
Beliefs and knowledge about breastfeeding benefits | Child will be bright | “Breastmilk develops a clever mind or brain of the baby.” - Mother (FGD Agojo) “The child will be bright.” - Mother (FGD Agojo) | Mothers FGD (2) |
Child will grow well and strong | “Breastmilk makes the baby fat. So when other people come visit, they feel happy when they see the baby.” - Mother (FGD Nyumanzi) “When a baby is fed on breastmilk, the baby becomes very strong.” - Mother (FGD Nyumanzi) “Breastmilk makes the baby feel strong.” – Mother (FGD Nyumanzi) “Breastmilk makes a child grow stronger.” - Mother (FGD Agojo) “The child will be very strong.” - Mother (FGD Agojo) “The child will be strong.” - Mother (FGD Agojo) “A child breastfeeding makes them strong.” - Father (FGD Ayilo-I) “Breastmilk builds the baby’s body.” - Father (FGD Ayilo-I) “Breastmilk makes the baby grow strong and healthy.” - Father (FGD Ayilo-I) | Fathers FGD (2) Mothers FGD (7) | |
Breastmilk is nutritious and protects from disease | “Breastmilk protects the baby.” - Mother (FGD Nyumanzi) “Breastmilk protects the baby from diseases.” - Mother (FGD Nyumanzi) “Breastmilk makes the baby strong and sometimes protects the baby from diseases.” - Father (FGD Ayilo-I) | Fathers FGD (1) Mothers FGD (3) | |
Support from husband/father | Provides food | "The husband should come up with the money to buy food such as meat so that the lactating mother gets soup.” - Mother (FGD Nyumanzi) “You try to maintain your wife through feeding so that she can’t be weak.” - Father (FGD Ayilo-I) “You ensure that the mother has eaten.” - Father (FGD Ayilo-I) “We help out wife in some ways like providing food.” - Father (FGD Ayilo-I) | Fathers FGD (4) Mothers FGD (1) |
Provides emotional support | “The husband makes sure she’s happy.” - Father (FGD Ayilo-I) “The love we have for them that is how we help them with breastfeeding.” - Father (FGD Ayilo-I) | Fathers FGD (3) | |
Do household chores | “When it is rainy season the man has to cultivate in the garden at home.” - Father (FGD Ayilo-I) | Fathers FGD (2) | |
Support from community | Grandmother provides food | “In our homes, grandmothers provide breastfeeding mothers with food for cooking so that she can produce more breastmilk for the child.” - Mother (FGD Agojo) | Mothers FGD (1) |
Neighbors provide materials | “And also some neighbors support the breastfeeding mother with providing them firewood and drinking water.” - Mother (FGD Agojo) “Also when the man is poor to provide for the baby and the breastfeeding mother it is his role to borrow from the neighbors.” - Father (FGD Ayilo-I) | Fathers FGD (1) Mothers FGD (1) | |
Support from non-governmental organizations (NGO) | NGO provides education | “And also Plan International was educating mothers about breastfeeding.” - Mother (FGD Agojo) | Mothers FGD (1) |
NGO provides food | “They were being supported by the partners giving out flour for porridge MTI and Plan International.” - Mother (FGD Agojo) | Mothers FGD (2) |