Linking Microcredit, Technology, and Promotion of IYCF Breastfeeding Guidelines in Bauchi State, Nigeria

The University of North Carolina (UNC) and Partners for Development (PFD), an American non-governmental organization, will conduct a 2-year cluster-randomized controlled trial in Bauchi State, Nigeria, to test the effectiveness of two behavior change strategies for increasing the proportion of participants who exclusively breastfeed their infants until 6 months. The investigators will build upon PFD's existing microcredit and reproductive health program by adding face-to-face breastfeeding education during borrowers' meetings and bi-weekly cell phone breastfeeding messages. The hypothesis is that the control group will remain at the baseline level for exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months, while the intervention group will increase by 15%. The investigators will measure the effectiveness of the intervention by conducting baseline and final surveys with a cohort of 485 female borrowers who are pregnant at time 1 and who have a 6-month-old infant at time 2. The data will be analyzed using logistic regression adjusting for possible confounders and the effect of clustering.