Adolescent girls’ perceptions of breastfeeding in two low-income periurban communities in South Africa

Abstract

In South Africa, exclusive breastfeeding rates are low, and rates of teenage pregnancy are high. Educational policy enables mothers’ return to school, which conflicts with policy emphasizing exclusive breastfeeding. We elicited adolescent women’s perceptions and experiences of infant feeding choices, and conducted six focus groups (N = 57) in two periurban settlements. Participants knew arguments in favor of and against breast and formula-feeding, but in practice, mixed feeding occurred early after birth. While completion of high school was emphasized, exclusive breastfeeding was viewed as impractical. Congruent education policies and infant feeding policies/guidelines must address the constraints and contexts of adolescent mothers.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that none have any financial interest or benefit that has arisen or will arise from any application of this research.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Cape Town Research Office, by Urban Food Systems Governance for NCD Prevention in South Africa, Kenya and Namibia (Nourishing Spaces) IDRC Project # 108458 and by the South African Research Chairs Initiative (Chair in ‘Health and Wealth’) of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation of South Africa (Any opinion, finding and conclusion or recommendation expressed in this article is that of the authors and the NRF does not accept any liability in this regard.)