Breastfeeding knowledge of mothers in protracted crises: The Gaza Strip example
| Autor: | Samar A. L. Moghany, Nihal Nassereddin, Emily Monaghan, Jonathan Latham, Alessandro Iellamo |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
Humanitarian crisis Breastfeeding Mothers Midwives 03 medical and health sciences Middle East 0302 clinical medicine Pregnancy Breastfeeding in emergencies Health care Medicine Humans Early initiation of breastfeeding 030212 general & internal medicine Israel Child Conflict escalation 030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine business.industry Public health Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Infant IYCF New-born care Focus group Infant Formula Breast Feeding Family medicine Female Counselling IYCF-E Infant feeding in emergencies Biostatistics Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 business Research in Practice Qualitative research BFHI |
| Zdroj: | BMC Public Health BMC Public Health, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-7 (2021) |
| DOI: | 10.21203/rs.3.rs-22328/v3 |
| Popis: | Background: The protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding is the most effective intervention to prevent child morbidity and mortality in all contexts, especially in humanitarian crisis. During the Palestine-Israel conflict that started in the middle of the 20th century, healthcare services are understaffed and lack basic resources, with frequent power cuts and stock-outs of essential drugs and equipment. This case study seeks to answer the questions: (1) How does the protracted crisis in Gaza affect the breastfeeding practices of the most vulnerable population; and (2) What is the role that midwives can play in improving breastfeeding practices?A mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) study was used to collect data. A total of 1044 respondents had a child less than 24 months at the time of the study. A total of 62.75 percent practice early initiation of breastfeeding and 42 percent confirmed that their new-borns were given liquids other than breast milk during the first three days of life. Fifty percent of mothers addressed breast milk insufficiency by drinking additional fluids and 40 percent by using infant formula. More than 50% of women said that they received most breastfeeding information during antenatal care visits. Only 18% of women said that they received breastfeeding information during contact with health professionals throughout labour, delivery, and subsequent post-natal care visits. Many mothers during the FGDs confirm using milk to top up or replace breast milk even if they know how important breastfeeding is for the childrenDiscussion: This study confirms the need to a) adapt the IYCF-E operational guidance in the Gaza strip and b) include breastfeeding counselling in the pre-service and in-service training for midwives. For vulnerable populations in humanitarian contexts, the impact of this cannot be underestimated. Conducting research in humanitarian settings is particularly challenging. The experience included integration and linkage with security officers on the ground, co-ordination with authorities and communities, supportive supervision during data collection, allocation of buffer days in-country and remote assistance to data collection teams Conclusions: This research focuses on a protracted emergency in insecure populated areas. The uncertain security situation, meant that the team adopted a flexible approach. Lessons learned throughout this exercise included the importance of a) allocating additional research time, to account for potential interruption b) daily coordination with security officers to ensure safe access to localities c) identification of extra sites, in case escalation of conflict d) training of additional enumerators in case conflict escalation e) negotiation with authorities to ensure compliance with requirements. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|