2. Effectiveness of ‘Promotion of Exclusive Breast Feeding through
Mother Support Group (EBFMSG)’ Project of Plan Bangladesh
Mohammad Awlad Hossain, Research and Evaluation Specialist, Plan
Bangladesh
Though Bangladesh has made progress with regards to certain health
indicators over the last few decades, prevalence of child malnutrition still
remains high. Initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of delivery and
exclusive breast feeding has positive effects in improving health and
nutritional status of children. In order to improve exclusive breast feeding,
Plan Bangladesh implemented a project titled “Promotion of Exclusive
Breast Feeding through Mother Support Group” (EBFMSG) in its program
areas. The main objective of the evaluation is to understand the
effectiveness of the community-based Mothers’ Support Group intervention
in Plan program areas. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 440
lactating and pregnant women. In addition, FGDs, in-depth interviews and
key informant interviews were conducted to collect the information. Data
collection took place in May and June, 2012. The model of the mother
support group has been identified as effective to some extent in terms of
increasing knowledge and practice related to breastfeeding and
complementary feeding. While knowledge is almost universal among the
mothers, the level of practice is still far from the level of knowledge and
higher among mothers in project areas. Initiation of breastfeeding within
one hour of birth was recorded as 86% which is considerably higher than the
national average (43%). Almost all the lactating mothers provided colostrum
to their child after birth. Although the rate of exclusive breastfeeding has
increased to 65%, it is still equivalent to national average. Significant
improvement has been observed in complementary feeding. Qualitative
findings also show that the model is more effective than regular BCC
activities. Replication and extension of this model with some modifications
can be done to further improve project outcome.
22 4th National Knowledge Convention