Assessment of Awareness Regarding the Advantages of Lactation Among Nursing Mothers in Lahore

Abstract: Breastfeeding is a basic human activity, vital to infant and maternal health and of immense economic value to households and societies. Among South Asian countries, Pakistan has the lowest rate of exclusive lactation. Objective: To assess the awareness regarding the advantages of lactation among nursingmothers in Lahore. Methods: Across-sectional study was conducted at Al- Khidmat Teaching Hospital, Mansoorah, Lahore and completed within 9 months using the convenient sampling technique. The data were collected through pre-tested questionnaire from 374 nursing mothers. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Frequencies were calculated, Pearson's chi-square test was applied. Results: Out of 374 respondents included in the study, 92.8% were aware of the benefits of lactation. The mean age of the respondents was 28.89±4.69 years. Majority of the respondents (77.5%) belonged to the middle class. Analysis revealed a significant association between maternal education, socioeconomic status, number of children and awareness of females regarding benefits of lactation. Conclusions: Majority of the mothers had knowledge about the benefits of lactation for the baby and the mother. Mothers got this information mainly from their relatives. Moreover, a strong association was found between the maternal education and awareness about the advantages of breast feeding among the participants; graduated mothers were more knowledgeable than the illiterate ones. Key words: Lactation, awareness, advantages of breast feeding, nursing mothers.