G. M. Emmanuel & O. O. Oyewole 55 International Journal of Biomedical and Health Sciences 0794-4748/2012 $5.00 + 0.00 Vol. 8, No. 1, March 31, 2012  2012 African Studies on Population and Health Printed in Nigeria http://www.asopah.org IJBHS 2011197/8109 Socio-cultural factors responsible for low rate of exclusive breastfeeding among nursing mothers attending a Nigerian Tertiary Health Institution Grace M. Emmanuel 1 * and Olufemi O. Oyewole 2 Physiotherapy Department, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu. (Received October 15, 2011; Accepted January 12, 2012) ABSTRACT: Background: Despite the recognition of the importance of breast milk, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding is still low in Nigeria and the duration of breastfeeding is also unsatisfactory. Objectives: This study is aimed at examining the socio- cultural factors that might be responsible for this observation. Methods: Exclusive Breastfeeding Assessment Questionnaire (EBAQ) was used to obtain data from the nursing mothers with children under 2 years of age who are attending a tertiary health institution in Sagamu town. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data while inferential statistics was used to see relationship between the socio-cultural factors and practice of exclusive breastfeeding. There were 231 respondents. Results: The results showed a significant correlation between exclusive breastfeeding and socio-cultural factors. Factors such as religion, self employed, level of education greater or equal to OND and level of income less than ₦5,000.00 and ₦10,000.00- 19,999.00 per month significant correlate with practice of exclusive breastfeeding. Conclusions: For an improvement in the exclusive breastfeeding rate of this population, health workers should bear in mind the socio-cultural factors of mothers in their locality during antenatal and postnatal cares. Keywords: exclusive breastfeeding, socio-cultural factors, nursing mothers Introduction The significant benefits of breastfeeding for children, mothers, and society are widely recognized. The many benefits of breast-feeding, including protection against exposure to harmful pathogens, provision of superior nutrition, transfer of antibodies and reduction in morbidity and mortality, are indisputable 1 . Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) infant feeding guidelines recommend that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health 2 . *Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed. 1 Tel: +2348038096730, E-mail: bolugrace@yahoo.com 2 Tel: +234 803 397 0714, E-mail: oyewoleye@yahoo.co.uk