Breastfeeding Practices in Leogane

I worked with a gynecologist, Dr. Nahida Chaktoura, over the course of six weeks to survey 600 women in the town of Leogane. We asked each woman a set of 112 questions about her health including past pregnancies, deliveries, abortions, use of contraception and barriers to care. The purpose of this survey was to determine what health services women in Leogane need, so that Family Health Ministries can incorporate these services into a new hospital they plan to build in the community. While Dr. Chaktoura focused on birth spacing and access to family planning services, I sought to learn about breastfeeding practices in the community.

Breastfeeding affords infants many health benefits, including protection against diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, the two primary causes of child mortality. Exclusive breastfeeding is also a natural method of family planning. Formula feeding, in contrast, can transmit waterborne diseases such as cholera or result in malnutrition from the over-dilution of formula to stretch supplies. The WHO strongly recommends exclusive breastfeeding for infants up to 6 months of age, and continued breastfeeding until at least one year of age. However, previous studies in Haiti have found that the exclusive breastfeeding rates for infants under 6 months are a mere 24% to 41%. This research project sought to investigate some of the reasons mothers in Leogane don’t follow the recommendations of the WHO, so that organizations like Family Health Ministries can better design breastfeeding education and outreach programs to fit the profile of the community.