Metiboba Steve¹, Daniel Comfort Aduke^1,, Owoyemi Julius Olugbenga¹

Exclusive breastfeeding of babies for six months is a well recognized childhood survival strategy of great benefits in reducing under-five mortality rates; as well as of great value to mother’s health. This descriptive study investigated awareness of the benefits and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers in Anyigba, Kogi State. The study simple-randomly selected 286 nursing mothers attending Child Welfare Clinic in two hospitals in Anyigba, North Central, Kogi State, . Research instruments include Interviewer-questionnaire, in-depth interview and focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings show among others majority (95.3%) of the respondents was well informed about exclusive breastfeeding; Knowledge of various benefits was high and 66.7% had practiced exclusive breastfeeding for six months. Based on these findings, it is recommendation that effort should be focused on creating more awareness and educating mothers and other significant members of the society on benefits of exclusive breastfeeding; government at all levels should encourage the practice of exclusive breastfeeding by putting necessary facilities in place, such as crèches in work place and in some public place. The period of maternity leave should also be lengthen so as to increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for maximum benefit to mother and child, as well as the society at large.

awareness, benefits, exclusive breastfeeding, knowledge, practice