Why healthcare workers give prelacteal feeds.
OBJECTIVE
Because prelacteal feeds can adversely affect breastfeeding, UNICEF/WHO discourage their use unless medically indicated. The study was carried out to determine the proportion of healthcare workers who routinely give prelacteal feeds, and their reasons for doing so; further, to determine whether any differences exist between medically and non-medically trained healthcare workers in their administration of prelacteal feeds.


METHODS
Survey.


METHODS
Primary, secondary and tertiary health facilities in Kaduna township Nigeria.


METHODS
Of 1100 healthcare workers sampled, 747 (68%) responded. Of these 80% had received medical training, 20% had not.


METHODS
Use of a pretested validated questionnaire.


RESULTS
Large proportions of both medical and non-medically trained healthcare workers stated they routinely give prelacteal feeds (doctors, 68.2%; nurses, 70.2%; and non-medical, 73.6%). However their reasons for doing so differed significantly (P=0.00001). Nurses gave mainly for perceived breast milk insufficiency, doctors for prevention of dehydration, hypoglycaemia and neonatal jaundice and non-medical staff to prepare the gastrointestinal tract for digestion and to quench thirst.


CONCLUSIONS
Most healthcare workers (medical and non-medical) routinely and unnecessarily give prelacteal feeds. Therefore training and retraining programmes in lactation management are necessary and must include non-medical staff. These programmes, while emphasizing the danger of giving prelacteal feeds, must deal with the misconceptions of each group. Deliberate efforts have to be made to incorporate clinical training in breastfeeding in curricula of Schools of Medicine and Nursing.
Department of Paediatrics, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Kaduna, Nigeria.
R M
RM
Akuse
E A
EA
Obinya
D001942:Breast Feeding; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007224:Infant Care; D007225:Infant Food / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007318:Inservice Training; D008895:Milk, Human; D009549:Nigeria; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires