Predictors of Exclusive Breastfeeding Intention Among Pregnant Working-Class Women in Wakiso District, Central Uganda - A Cross-Sectional Study

Q: What was the main objective of the study?

To identify predictors of exclusive breastfeeding intention among pregnant working-class women in Wakiso District, Central Uganda.

Q: How was exclusive breastfeeding intention defined and measured?

EBF intention meant intending to give only breast milk without additional foods or liquids, including water, for the first six months, measured using the 5-item Infant Feeding Intentions (IFI) scale.

Q: Which factors were associated with higher or lower intention?

Multigravidity and maternity leave ≥4 months were associated with higher likelihood of intention, while earning a salary in the UGX 500,000–1,000,000 range and being aged 25–30 years were associated with lower likelihood.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by WPS_1790064749

Study outcomes examine predictors of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) intention among pregnant women engaged in formal or informal employment in Wakiso District, Central Uganda. A facility-based cross-sectional survey of 427 antenatal attendees at Kasangati Health Centre IV, collected between September 2024 and May 2025, operationalized EBF intention via the Infant Feeding Intentions (IFI) scale and analyzed factors using modified Poisson regression (p<0.05). Multigravidity and maternity leave ≥4 months increased intention, while certain salary levels and age 25–30 years reduced it.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

Study design and setting

Measures and analysis

Results

Conclusion

Keywords

Nekesa et al. International Breastfeeding Journal (2026) 21:1 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-025-00789-3](https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-025-00789-3) International Breastfeeding Journal RESEARCH Open Access Predictors of exclusive breastfeeding intention among pregnant working-class women in Wakiso District, central Uganda: a crosssectional study Catherine Nekesa 1, Emmanuel Ekung 1, Aisha Nalubuuka 1, Patience Grace Atim 1, Gladeth Nakafeero 1 and Samson Udho 1* Abstract Background Breastfeeding is globally recognized as one of the most effective ways to ensure the health and survival of infants. However, there is limited literature on exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) intention among working-class women across Uganda. This study aimed to examine the predictors of EBF intention among pregnant working-class women in Wakiso District, Central Uganda. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 427 randomly selected pregnant workingclass women (defined as pregnant women engaged in either formal or informal employment to earn an income) attending antenatal care at Kasangati Health Centre IV in Wakiso District, Central Uganda between September 2024 and May 2025. EBF intention was defined as the working-class women’s intention to give only breast milk without any additional foods or liquids, including water during the first six months after birth. Breastfeeding intention as measured using the Infant Feeding Intentions (IFI) scale, a 5-item scale with a total score range of 0 to 16, where each item has a five-point response scale: 0 (very much disagree), 1 (somewhat disagree), 2 (neutral), 3 (somewhat agree), 4 (very much agree) . Descriptive statistics were used to summarize participants’ characteristics and breastfeeding intention. Modified Poisson regression was used to identify independent predictors of breastfeeding intention, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results The mean age of study participants was 28.5 [SD ±4. 3] years. Overall, 30. 1% of respondents intended to exclusively breastfeed for six months. Multigravidity (AOR = 2 . 01, 95% CI: 1.06–3. 79) and maternity leave ≥ 4 months (AOR = 2 . 39, 95% CI: 1.05–5.43) were associated with a higher likelihood of intending to breastfeed exclusively. Conversely, earning a salary of UGX 500,000–1,000,000 (USD 140–280) per month (AOR = 0 . 54, 95% CI: 0 . 29, 0 . 99) and being aged 25–30 years (AOR = 0 .47, 95% CI: 0 . 22, 0 . 99) were associated with a lower likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding intention. *Correspondence: Samson Udho [sudho@lirauni.ac.ug](sudho@lirauni.ac.ug) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creati](http://creati)[vecommons.org/l](vecommons.org/l)icenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Nekesa et al. International Breastfeeding Journal (2026) 21:1 Page 2 of 10 Conclusion The low intention to exclusively breastfeed among pregnant working-class women highlights the need for structural and workpl

FAQs

What was the main objective of the study?

To identify predictors of exclusive breastfeeding intention among pregnant working-class women in Wakiso District, Central Uganda.

How was exclusive breastfeeding intention defined and measured?

EBF intention meant intending to give only breast milk without additional foods or liquids, including water, for the first six months, measured using the 5-item Infant Feeding Intentions (IFI) scale.

Which factors were associated with higher or lower intention?

Multigravidity and maternity leave ≥4 months were associated with higher likelihood of intention, while earning a salary in the UGX 500,000–1,000,000 range and being aged 25–30 years were associated with lower likelihood.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by WPS_1790064749