Abstract
This chapter is based on data collected in central Malawi as part of a large multi-centre acceptability study of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in infants (IPTi). It describes women’s perceptions of breast milk as being ‘good’ or ‘bad’, their beliefs about the transmission of malaria and other diseases through breastfeeding and the effect of malaria medication taken by the mother on the disease of her infant. It discusses the notion that medicines have volition and are only efficacious in the individual for whom they are intended. As a result, even though women may think that malaria medication they have taken can be passed on to their infant through breastfeeding, they think that this medicine will have no effect on their infant because it was only meant for the mother. The implications of using these ideas to improve adherence to medication administered at home are discussed.
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Notes
- 1.
In Burkina Faso, women thought that disease was transmitted through breast milk, which was seen as having ‘the same potential as blood to transmit disease’ (Hofmann et al.2009)
- 2.
Nichter and Nichter (1996) have reported women deliberately consuming medicines intended for their babies as a means of transferring the qualities of the medicine to their baby.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the mothers and other community members who gave up their time to participate in this study. The project was funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the IPTi Consortium.
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Pool, R., Pell, C., Kaunda, B.N., Mathanga, D., Gysels, M. (2011). Breastfeeding, Vertical Disease Transmission and the Volition of Medicines in Malawi. In: Liamputtong, P. (eds) Infant Feeding Practices. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6873-9_17
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