INFLUENCE OF EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING PRACTICE AND BREASTFEEDING DURATION ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF NURSING MOTHERS AMONG UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of exclusive breastfeeding practice and breastfeeding duration on the academic performance of nursing mothers among undergraduate Business Education students in tertiary institutions in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study had two objectives, two research questions and two null hypotheses. A descriptive-correlational survey research design was adopted for the study. The target population comprised undergraduate Business Education students who were nursing mothers or had practised breastfeeding while enrolled in their current undergraduate programmes in selected tertiary institutions in Adamawa State. A sample of 86 nursing mothers was drawn from Modibbo Adama University, Yola; Federal College of Education, Yola; and Adamawa State College of Education, Hong, using the snowball sampling technique. All 86 respondents satisfied the eligibility requirements and had their official Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) successfully linked to their questionnaire responses. Data were collected using the Breastfeeding Practices Questionnaire (BPQ) and the Academic Performance Record Extraction Sheet. The BPQ measured exclusive breastfeeding practice and breastfeeding duration, while academic performance was measured using respondents' official CGPA obtained from institutional academic records. The instruments were subjected to face and content validation by three lecturers in the Faculty of Education, Modibbo Adama University, Yola. A field trial involving 30 respondents yielded a Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.836. Mean, standard deviation and Pearson Product Moment Correlation were used to answer the research questions, while simple linear regression was used to test the null hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that exclusive breastfeeding practice had a strong positive influence on academic performance (r = .638) and significantly predicted academic performance, F(1, 84) = 57.660, p < .05, accounting for 40.7% of the variation in CGPA. Breastfeeding duration had a moderate positive influence (r = .531) and significantly predicted academic performance, F(1, 84) = 33.052, p < .05, accounting for 28.2% of the variation. The study concluded that exclusive breastfeeding practice and breastfeeding duration were significantly associated with academic performance. It was recommended that tertiary institutions provide breastfeeding-friendly spaces, reasonable academic flexibility, and appropriate facilities to enable nursing mothers to maintain exclusive breastfeeding and sustain breastfeeding for the recommended period while pursuing their academic goals.