Knowledge, Attitude and Acceptability of Human Breast Milk Banking among Lactating Mothers at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Nairobi City County, Kenya

Registration ID: IJNRD_191173

Published ID: IJNRDTH00026

: Click Here to Get

Mati Christine Mwende, Chege Peter M., Kobia Joseph M.

Breastfeeding, Breast Milk Banking, Human Breast Milk Donation

Background: Human breast milk is the most critical feeding option for newborns and infants. The World Health Organization recommends infant exclusive breast feeding for the initial six months of life. In the instance that breastfeeding cannot be seamlessly achieved or initiated; the WHO recommends the donation and use of human breast milk as the best of other replacement feeding options. In Kenya, the first human milk bank was started up in 2019 at Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi City County, with the aim of filling this gap in breastfeeding practices for the benefit of infants. The purpose of this study was to establish the knowledge, attitude and acceptability of human breast milk banking among lactating mothers at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Nairobi City County, Kenya. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study design approach was utilized for the study, with systematic sampling and sample random sampling methods applied to gain 403 lactating mothers as the study respondents. A structured and consolidated, researcher-administered questionnaire, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect the data. The collected qualitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Chi-Square tests were used to determine association and the Fisher’s Exact test was applied to assess the null hypotheses for variables where the frequencies were less than five. Results with p-values less than 0.05 were said to be statistically significant. For qualitative data, content analysis was conducted. Results: The results indicated that the mean age of lactating mothers visiting Pumwani Maternity Hospital was 30.8 ± 6.9 years. A majority (51.7%) of the lactating mothers had adequate knowledge on human donor breast milk banking with 48% of them having a basic knowledge on the concept of human breast milk donation. A majority (57.1%) of the lactating mothers reported positive attitudes towards human breast milk donation and banking. However, human breast milk donation and banking was only acceptable to 36.4% of the lactating mothers, and was unacceptable to 24.8% of them. 32.7% of the participants were uncertain about their acceptability of donor human breast milk banking. A significant relationship (χ2==55.9671; p-value<0.00001) was found to exist between the lactating mothers’ age and their acceptability of donor human breast milk banking. Their acceptability of donor human breast milk banking was also significantly associated with their marital status (χ2 =43.3383; df 2); and their level of education (χ2=11.78; df 2; p-value=.019046). However, it was found that there was no significant relationship between the lactating mothers’ acceptability of donor human breast milk banking and their employment status or occupation ((χ2=1.1567, p=.5608]). Conclusion: The study concluded that knowledge and attitudes of lactating mothers are co-dependent in influencing their acceptability of human breast milk donation and banking. It is recommended that efforts to improve knowledge levels of lactating women on the concept and availability of human breast milk donation and banking facilities be employed within Pumwani Maternity Hospital and Nairobi City County. The findings of this study may therefore be useful to stakeholders within the Nairobi City County, and the Human Breast Milk Banking coordinators at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, in the effort of strengthening gaps in infant feeding

Published Paper   E-Certificate

Mati Christine Mwende, Chege Peter M., & Kobia Joseph M. (May-2023). Knowledge, Attitude and Acceptability of Human Breast Milk Banking among Lactating Mothers at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Nairobi City County, Kenya. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 8(5), 327-403. https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRDTH00026.pdf

Volume 8 Issue 5, May-2023

Pages : 327-403

Paper Reg. ID: IJNRD_191173

Published Paper Id: IJNRDTH00026

Downloads: 000122050

Research Area: Health Science 

Author Type: Foreign Author

Country: Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

Published Paper PDF: https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRDTH00026.pdf

Published Paper URL: https://ijnrd.org/viewpaperforall?paper=IJNRDTH00026

Journal Name: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT(IJNRD)

UGC CARE JOURNAL PUBLICATION | ISSN: 2456-4184 | IMPACT FACTOR: 8.76 Calculated By Google Scholar | ESTD YEAR: 2016

An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 8.76 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator

Publisher: IJNRD (IJ Publication) Janvi Wave | IJNRD.ORG | IJNRD.COM | IJPUB.ORG

© 2025 — Authors hold the copyright of this article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. and The Open Definition.

You are free to share, adapt, and redistribute the material, provided proper credit is given to the original author. 🛡️ Disclaimer: The content, data, and findings in this article are based on the authors’ research and have been peer-reviewed for academic purposes only. Readers are advised to verify all information before practical or commercial use. The journal and its editorial board are not liable for any errors, losses, or consequences arising from its use.

Call For Paper - Volume 10 | Issue 11 | November 2025

IJNRD is a Scholarly Open Access, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed, and UGC CARE Journal Publication with a High Impact Factor of 8.76 (calculated by Google Scholar & Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool). It is a Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Low-Cost, and Transparent Peer Review Journal Publication that adheres to the UGC CARE 2025 Peer-Reviewed Journal Policy and aligns with Scopus Journal Publication standards to ensure the highest level of research quality and credibility.

IJNRD offers comprehensive Journal Publication Services including indexing in all major databases and metadata repositories, Digital Object Identifier (Crossref DOI) assignment for each published article with additional fees, citation generation tools, and full Open Access visibility to enhance global research reach and citation impact.

The INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (IJNRD) aims to advance applied, theoretical, and experimental research across diverse academic and professional fields. The journal promotes global knowledge exchange among researchers, developers, academicians, engineers, and practitioners, serving as a trusted platform for innovative, peer-reviewed journal publication and scientific collaboration.

Indexing Coverage: Google Scholar, SSRN, ResearcherID-Publons, Semantic Scholar (AI-Powered Research Tool), Microsoft Academic, Academia.edu, arXiv.org, ResearchGate, CiteSeerX, ResearcherID (Thomson Reuters), Mendeley, DocStoc, ISSUU, Scribd, and many other recognized academic repositories.

How to submit the paper?

By Our website

Click Here to Submit Paper Online

By Mail

Send your paper to editor@ijnrd.org

You can now publish your research in IJNRD. IJNRD is a Transparent Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal Publication (Refereed Journal), aligning with New UGC and UGC CARE recommendations.

For more details, refer to the official notice: UGC Public Notice

Submit Paper Online

Important Dates for Current issue

Paper Submission Open For: November 2025

Current Issue: Volume 10 | Issue 11 | November 2025

Impact Factor: 8.76

Last Date for Paper Submission: Till 30-Nov-2025

Notification of Review Result: Within 1-2 Days after Submitting paper.

Publication of Paper: Within 01-02 Days after Submititng documents.

Frequency: Monthly (12 issue Annually).

Journal Type: IJNRD is an International Peer-reviewed, Refereed, and Open Access Journal with Transparent Peer Review as per the new UGC CARE 2025 guidelines, offering low-cost multidisciplinary publication with Crossref DOI and global indexing.

Subject Category: Research Area

Call for Paper: More Details

Approval, Licenses and Indexing: More Details