TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION .........................................................................................................................................I

SUPERVISOR`S APPROVAL ..................................................................................................................II

DEDICATION.......................................................................................................................................... III

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT........................................................................................................................IV

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.................................................................................................................... V

LIST OF OPERATING DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................. VI

LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................................................................... X

LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................. XI

ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................................................XII

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY..................................................................................................... 1

1.2. PROBLEM STATEMENT.................................................................................................................. 2

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY................................................................................................................... 4

1.3.1 MAIN OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................ 4

1.3.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES.................................................................................................................. 4

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................................. 4

1.5 JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY............................................................................................................. 4

1.6 SCOPE OF STUDY.............................................................................................................................. 5

1.7 CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK........................................................................................................ 6

CHAPTER TWO:....................................................................................................................................... 7

LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 7

2.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 7

2.1 BACKGROUND OF EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING ................................................................... 7

2.2 MATERNAL KNOWLEDGE ON EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING .............................................. 9

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2.3 MATERNAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING.................................. 10

2.4 SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON BREASTFEEDING ............................................................... 11

2.5 MATERNAL PRACTICE OF EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING ................................................... 11

CAPTER THREE: .................................................................................................................................... 13

METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................... 13

3.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 13

3.1 STUDY AREA ................................................................................................................................... 13

3.2 STUDY POPULATION ..................................................................................................................... 14

3.3 STUDY DESIGN................................................................................................................................ 14

3.4 STUDY VARIABLES........................................................................................................................ 14

3.3.1 INCLUSION CRITERIA................................................................................................................. 15

3.3.2 EXCLUSION CRITERIA ............................................................................................................... 15

3.4 SAMPLE SIZE ESTIMATION.......................................................................................................... 16

3.5 DATA COLLECTION MANAGEMENT ......................................................................................... 17

3.5.1 DATA ANALYSIS.......................................................................................................................... 17

3.5.2 QUALITY CONTROL.................................................................................................................... 17

3.5.3 LIMITATIONS................................................................................................................................ 17

3.5.4. DELIMITATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 18

3.6 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION.......................................................................................................... 18

CHAPHTER FOUR.................................................................................................................................. 19

DATA PRESENTATION......................................................................................................................... 19

4.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 19

4.2 SOCIAL-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS WITH THEIR INDEX .................................... 19

TRIBE FINDINGS ................................................................................................................................... 19

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4.3 INFRANT FEEDING IFORMATION AND PRACTICES............................................................... 21

4.4 INFANT AND MATERNAL HEALTH............................................................................................ 23

CHAPTER FIVE ...................................................................................................................................... 27

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................ 27

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 27

5.1 DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS................................................................................................. 27

5.1.1 SOCIAL-DEMOGRAPHIC FINDINGS......................................................................................... 27

5.1.2 INFANT FEEDING INFORMATION AND PRACTICES............................................................ 28

5.1.3 MATERNAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING............................... 28

5.2 CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................... 30

5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................... 30

REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................... 32

APPENDIX I: QUESTIONAIRE CONSENT FORM AND INTRODUCTION .................................... 35

APPENDIX II: MAP OF UGANDA SHOWING BUSHENYI DISTRICT............................................ 42

APPENDIX III; MAP OF BUSHENYI DISTRICT SHOWING LOCATION OFKYABUGIMBI ....... 43

APPENDIX IV: BUDGET ESTIMATE .................................................................................................. 44

APPENDIX V: WORK PLAN ................................................................................................................. 45

ABSTRACT Methods: This study was conducted Kyabugimbi Sub County, Bushenyi district in the southern part of Uganda, 21 KM from Bushenyi town along Ishaka- Mbarara road.to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of exclusive breast feeding among Primiparous lactating mothers attending Kyabugimbi health center IV. A questionnaire consisting of both closed and open ended questions was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. SPSS was used for data entry and analysis and data was presented in tables. Results: Majority were Banyankole accounting to 84.1% of the respondents and majority of the respondents where for secondary level with 63.6% and primary with 31.8%. Majority of babies were put on breast from 0-3 hours accounting to 75.1% and above 3 hours accounted to 24.9%. Majority of the babies were not given any thing that is 86.4% and 13.6% were given sugar or glucose water. Majority of these babies were still breast feeding accounting to 90.9%. 97.7% of the mothers believed in EBF being beneficial to the children. 56.8% believed that babies can survive without water, 34.1% didn’t believe and 9.1% were not sure. Husband were involved in breast feeding decisions carrying 52.3% of the respondents. 88.6% believed that animal milk is not suitable for new born babies, 9.1% believed that it is suitable and only 2.3 were not sure. Of the working mothers 63.6% were using formula feeding, 34.1% were not using it and 2.3% were not sure. 95.5% believed that breast fed babies are healthier than formula fed babies. And 65.9% believed that breast feeding destroys figure and only 34.1% didn’t believe. 79.5% knew that breast milk is easily digested than formula, 15.9% were not sure and only 4.5% didn’t know. Conclusion: Though the practice of breastfeeding was high and majority of the respondents were aware of EBF, the exclusive breastfeeding rate was not sufficient. Based on study findings, it was concluded that:  Study participants have a good knowledge regarding breastfeeding’s health benefits for mother and baby.  Participants have a positive attitude toward breastfeeding.  Participant’s knowledge level is positively correlated with their age and attitude toward breastfeeding.  Several barriers might prevent participants from breast feeding their babies although they have good knowledge regarding its importance such as destruction of mothers figure.