Infant feeding knowledge and practice among HIV positive mothers attending HIV treatment centres in Lagos

Background: Twenty five to forty percent of children will be infected with HIV in the absence of any form of intervention which is Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT).Objectives: This study determined the infant feeding knowledge and practices among HIV positive mothers attending HIV treatment centers in Lagos.Methods: A descriptive crosssectional design was used for the study. A multistage sampling technique was used to select / recruit 290 HIV positive mothers with babies between the ages of 2weeks to 18months, attending PMTCT services into the study Pre-tested interviewer administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data and analysis was done using Epi-info software. Chi-square and Fischer exact tests were used to determine association between the dependent and independent variables. The pvalue was set at 0.05.Results: Majority of the respondents (58.9%) were within the age range of 31 – 40 years and about half had a secondary school level of education. Exclusive formula feeding (40.3%) and exclusive breast feeding (42.4%) were feeding options known by the majority of the respondents. More than half (55.5%) of the mothers had a good knowledge of infant feeding options. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) was practiced by majority (55.5%) of the respondents, 21.4% practiced exclusive formula feeding (EFF) while only 6% practiced mixed feeding (MF). Knowledge of infant feeding options and the attitude towards exclusive breast feeding being enough in the first 6 months of life were associated with infant feeding options practiced; those with good knowledge of infant feeding options did not practice MF (9.7%) (p = 0.013).Conclusion: knowledge of infant feeding options was good and poor knowledge was associated with exclusive formula feeding. Majority practiced EBF. Educational programmes targeted at improving the knowledge of HIV and infant feeding options as well as strengthening of counseling sessions at PMTCT clinic would help reduce the risk of HIV transmission to the child.