Maternal Care of the Newborn and Breastfeeding in Pemba Island

The study described in this book was conducted in Pemba Island, Tanzania. Pemba has a relatively high rate of newborn mortality. The study investigated infant feeding within the context of newborn care. In the first part of the study, I interviewed a small sample of mothers to whom no prior instruction or advice about infant feeding had been provided. This part of the study allowed a description of women's beliefs about the vulnerability of the newborn, and the implication of these. In the second part of the study, a small sample of Pemban mothers who were provided with in-depth, personalized information about exclusive breastfeeding using an approach inspired by the “Trial of Improved Practices” were interviewed. The study results highlight the practices that women found most difficult to adopt following recommendations for behavior change and those that fitted well with local cultural understandings.