Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Abstract BACKGROUND: Addressing good breastfeeding practices among antenatal and postnatal mothers 
is important as it helps in bringing about a positive change in the behavior, attitude, and practice 
with appropriate health education. Hence, this study was done to determine the awareness level 
of antenatal and postnatal mothers about the breastfeeding practices and benefits and identify the 
factors associated with it in rural Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted this community‑based cross‑sectional study among 
377 antenatal and postnatal mothers in the selected rural villages of Chengalpattu between October 
2019 and September 2020. Details regarding the sociodemographic characteristics and awareness/
knowledge about the breastfeeding were collected using pretested semistructured questionnaire. 
Knowledge adequacy was summarized as proportion with 95% confidence interval (CI), and factors 
associated with knowledge were interpreted as adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) with 95% CI using 
log‑binomial regression.
RESULTS: About 19.6% (95% CI: 15.7%–24.0%) mothers had inadequate knowledge about 
breastfeeding. Women who were unemployed (aPR = 1.60; 95% CI: 1.02–2.51), belonging to the lower 
socioeconomic status (aPR = 2.62; 95% CI: 1.80–3.82), belonging to Muslim religion (aPR = 1.63; 
95% CI: 1.14–2.35), and living in joint family (aPR = 1.58; 95% CI: 1.12–2.21) had significant higher 
risk of inadequate knowledge about breastfeeding practices compared to those who were employed, 
belonging to upper socioeconomic status, Hindu religion, and living in nuclear family.
CONCLUSION: We found that almost one‑fifth of the antenatal and/or postnatal mothers had 
inadequate knowledge about the breastfeeding benefits and practices. Health education sessions are 
required to promote the awareness about breastfeeding during antenatal and postnatal check‑ups.