Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, ESIC Medical College and PGIMSR, K.K. Nagar, Chennai, India
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.
Keywords
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