GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

ABSTRACT The study investigated the exclusive breastfeeding and health status of infants and mothers in Uruan Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State. The population of this study consisted all mothers between the ages of 18-45 years in Uruan Local Government Area with a total number of 9,844. The study adopted a non-experimental survey to assess the exclusive breastfeeding and health status of infants and mothers. The Data collected from the respondents were coded and transferred into a spreadsheet and summarized. They were coded into the computer and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) 11.0 while all the hypotheses were tested at .05 alpha. The instrument for data collection was the questionnaire. The questionnaire was titled “Benefits of Exclusive Breastfeeding on Babies and Mothers Questionnaire (BEBFBMQ)” and had two sections. A total of 400 mothers were selected for the study through accidental sampling technique. From the results of the data analysis, it was observed that exclusive breastfeeding has a tremendous influence on the health of a child and mother. It was concluded that exclusive breastfeeding significantly influences the health of infant and mothers. One of the recommendations was that nursing mothers should be encouraged to adhere strictly to the directives and information regarding the practice of exclusive breastfeeding. KEYWORDS: Exclusive Breastfeeding, Infants, Mothers, Health, Uruan Local Government Area