EC Gynaecology

Background: Breastfeeding is a crucial aspect of nutrition to infant’s health that provides benefits to both the mother and the child. The study was done to assess the awareness about breastfeeding and to further address the gaps through health education and promotion activities.
Aim of the Study: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and to determine their knowledge, attitude, and practice of breastfeeding among resident postnatal mothers of a rural field practice area.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 476 resident postnatal mothers of 6 to 24 months and breastfeeding. Participants were selected from Kinaye Rural Area. A consecutive sampling technique was adopted. Data on socio-demographic profile, and knowledge, attitude, and practice of breastfeeding were obtained. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS v23.0. Chi-square, Kruskal Wallis Test, and Linear Correlation were used and p-values <0.05 were considered significant.
Results: The median (IQR) age of the mothers and the children were 25 (4) years and 9.5 (3) months. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in the study was 83.2%. There was an association between the mother’s age group, order of birth, and exclusive breastfeeding practice as well as the baby’s age group, order of birth and practice scores and place of delivery, and attitude scores. The study also showed statistically significant linear correlation between knowledge, attitude and practice scores.
Conclusion: The estimated prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was much higher than the national average among rural postnatal mothers in our study area. The linear correlation between knowledge, attitude, and practices proved that they are interlinked.

 Keywords: Exclusive Breastfeeding; Prevalence; Postnatal Mothers; Knowledge; Attitude

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