Infant and Young Child Feeding Policy: do primary health care nurses adhere to the HIV breastfeeding recommendations in Limpopo province?

Abstract

Background: The HIV and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) guidelines in the revised IYCF policy of 2013 encouraged HIV-positive mothers to breastfeed exclusively for six months. In the case of HIV, the 2013 recommendation was that breastfeeding should continue for a year with the introduction of appropriate complementary feeding at six months while children receive antiretroviral treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and practices of primary health care (PHC) nurses related to the implementation of the revised IYCF policy, with a specific focus on HIV breastfeeding recommendations, in Blouberg Municipality, Limpopo province.