A study on breast feeding practices among reproductive age group women

Introduction: The best food for the infant is breastmilk as it provides the nourishment in the first year of life. Greater chances of survival are seen more in breastfed children as compared to artifically fed child. But today in many affluent societies, breast feeding appears to have become a lost art. Objectives: To assess the breast feeding practices and to educate the mothers about the importance of breast feeding and its advantages. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in a District Hospital, Koppal. A total of 110 women were included in the study and data was collected using a structured questionnaire for a period of three months from January 2018 to March 2018. Data was entered in Microsoft excel and descriptive proportions were used to analyze the data. Results: Among 110 women who participated in the study 63.7% belonged to 17-21 years age; about 60.9% belonged to lower middle and lower class (60.9%). Gradutaes were 6.4% and more than half of them are living as nuclear family. Majority were from rural background (79%) and 88% had delivered at an institution. 56% women delivered normally and birth spacing of more than 2 years was seen in 77% women. Babies who were fed within 30 minutes after birth were 25% and 65% exclusively breastfed their infants upto 6 months. Colostrum feeding was observed in 83% women while pre-lacteal feed was seen in 17% women. Conclusions: We can conclude from this study that mothers had an average knowledge about breast feeding but had poor feeding practices. It is necessary to educate all the mothers about breastfeeding and its importance.