Breast feeding and Immunization Practices in a Rural Area of Thrissur District, Kerala, India

Abstract

It’s widely known that breastfeeding saves the infant lives and reduces disease burden. But social and religious factors have affected the breastfeeding practices in our country. Also immunisation coverage is not uniform may be due to the stigma regarding immunisation which is still persisting in some parts of our country. 1) To assess breastfeeding practices among mothers of under five children in a rural area of Thrissur district, Kerala. 2) To assess immunisation practices among mothers of under five children in a rural area of Thrissur district, Kerala. It was a cross sectional study conducted in a rural area of Thrissur District, Kerala. Door to door survey was done and data was collected from 189 mothers of under five children using standard questionnaire developed by UNICEF (United Nations Childrens Fund). We interviewed 189 mothers. Of all 183 (96.8%) mothers fed their babies within one hour and 180 (95.2 %) mothers fed their children with colostrum. Fully immunised children were 184 (97.4%) and Vitamin A prophylaxis was given for 109(57.7%) children. In our study 96.8% mothers fed their babies within one hour of birth. Almost 97.4% children were fully immunised and 57.7%children were given Vitamin A prophylaxis.