Low rates of exclusive breastfeeding are still evident in four South African provinces

Objectives: Breastfeeding is one of the primary strategies used to enhance infant nutrition and improving child survival worldwide. The intention of globally increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) to at least 50% of infants in the first six months of life was stated in the 2014 International Conference on Nutrition Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the Post-2015 Development Agenda. This study aimed to explore the infant-feeding practices of mothers and caregivers of infants aged ≤ 6 months in four provinces in South Africa.Setting and subjects: This cross-sectional study was conducted in four provinces in South Africa. In total, 40 health facilities were randomly selected in the four provinces and visited, including metropolitan and non-metropolitan health facilities over the geographical area of the provinces. The sample size comprised mothers and/or caregivers of babies aged ≤ 6 months.Design: Fixed-format interviews were used in this cross-sectional study on 580 mothers and/or caregivers. The mothers completed 24-hour recall based on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations dietary diversity list, consisting of 12 different food groups, to assess dietary intake and diversity.Results: The EBF rate for infants up to the age of six months was 12%. Mothers who delivered full-term babies were most likely to initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of delivery. More than a third of the mothers had ceased breastfeeding by one month (40%, n = 23). The introduction of complementary food took place in 17% of infants during this first month. The minimum standards of dietary diversity were met by one infant only. Different reasons found to influence mothers’ feeding practices included needing to return to work (29%) or their studies (12%), the mothers’ health status (25%), and perceptions of an “insufficient” milk supply (13%).Conclusion: Therefore, new strategies should address these gaps in knowledge with key breastfeeding awareness messages and a special focus on community involvement and participation. There is also a need for the whole nutrition fraternity, including government, academia and development industries, to intervene by developing more innovative approaches to increase the rate of EBF in South Africa.Keywords: exclusive breastfeeding, South Africa, low rates, infant feeding practice

Social circumstances and cultural beliefs influence maternal nutrition, breastfeeding and child feeding practices in South Africa:

Maternal and child undernutrition remain prevalent in developing countries with 45 and 11% of child deaths linked to poor nutrition and suboptimal breastfeeding, respectively. This also has adverse effects on child growth and development. The study determined maternal dietary diversity, breastfeeding and, infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and identified reasons for such behavior in five rural communities in South Africa, in the context of cultural beliefs and social aspects

University Students’ Perceptions of Multilingual Education: A Case Study of the North-West University Mafikeng Campus

The dominant position of neo-liberal monolingual medium-of-instruction practices has created myths and fallacies about the utility of English as the sole language of skills development and training in South Africa (Ndhlovu 2013:33). As a result, most tertiary institutions are reluctant to implement multilingual education for purposes of teaching and learning because they want to create “globally relevant” students. This argument is based on myths and has been proven by many scholars to be delusive. Current research has proven that the use of multilingualism in higher learning contributes to the learner’s conceptual and pedagogical development as well as his/her communicative competence. However, despite this evidence, the North-West University’s (NWU) Mafikeng campus is failing to implement a language policy that promotes multilingualism. A commonly-heard argument is that the students at NWU have a negative attitude towards the use of their indigenous languages for teaching and learning purposes. It is in light of this that the researchers set out not only to interrogate the NWU language policy, but also to go a step further and investigate the students’ perceptions of multilingual education as a factor contributing towards the lack of practical implementation of the university’s language policy. This study will also highlight the ill-preparedness of students for an English-only teaching and learning environment. The tentative empirical data prove that the students also feel that they are at a linguistic disadvantage when entering the tertiary institution. This paper returns to the knotty question regarding language-in-education policies for multilingual societies, which is an ongoing topical issue in national and international contexts.Keywords: Multilingualism, Academic Literacy, Education and Language, Mother-tongue Educatio