FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY INITIATION OF BREASTFEEDING AMONG MOTHERS OF DIBRUGARH DISTRICT, ASSAM- A COMMUNITY-BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Early or timely initiation of breastfeeding, specifically within 1 hour of birth, refers to the best practice recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). There is growing evidence of the significant impact of early initiation of breastfeeding, preferably within the first hour after birth, on reducing overall neonatal mortality. The present study has been undertaken with an objective to study the current prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding in Dibrugarh district, Assam, India and to assess the various factors influencing early initiation of breastfeeding. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted among 354 mothers having children up to 1 year of age from June 2015 to May 2016. Multistage sampling was used to select mothers for the study. A pre-designed and pre-tested schedule was used to collect information from the study participants. Study population was described using proportion, mean and standard deviation. Data was analysed using chi-square test and Fisher exact test. RESULTS: A total of 354 study participants with a mean age of 23.34+or-3.8 years participated in the current study in which 63.84% of the study participants had initiated breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth. Among the factors assessed statistically significant association was found with socioeconomic class (p=0.006) and place of delivery (p=0.003). CONCLUSION: From the present study, it was observed that the early initiation of breastfeeding was either comparable or well above the studies conducted in various study areas in our country. To further improve the breastfeeding practices, counselling on proper breastfeeding practices should be provided to all the pregnant and lactating women during the antenatal visits, postnatal visits and immunisation sessions.