Colostrum feeding status in a selected rural area of Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Colostrums feeding status was still poor in Bangladesh due to ignorance of family members. Thereafter growth faltering is a commonly observed phenomenon in developing countries after about 3months of age. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess colostrums feeding status in selected rural area. Methods: It was a cross sectional observational study. A total of 400subjects were estimated and mothers having child aged between 0-6months of age were included in the study purposively. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: The mean (±SD) age of the respondents was 24.4years. Majority (63%) of the mothers had given colostrums to their child and 37% refused it. About 66.1% mothers whose had first baby practiced colostrums more than being second time mother also had statistically significant association (p<0.05). Majority 69.4% of mothers took health care services from public hospital given colostrums more than the mothers taken from private hospital and 73.7% non Muslims mothers practiced colostrums. Those variables had an association with colostrums feeding (p<0.05). Conclusion: Tradition with cultural belief among mothers and elder family members has an impact on colostrums feeding as well as maintenance of optimal breastfeeding practices.