Knowledge, attitude, practices and barriers regarding Early Initiation of Breastfeeding (EIBF) among postnatal mothers in selected hospital of Meghalaya

Abstract

Early Initiation of Breastfeeding (EIBF) is "considered as the cornerstone of child survival and child's health" which provides essential nutrition and immunization against a range of infections and life-threatening ailments and prevents about 19.1% of all neonatal death. The present study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, practices, and barriers regarding early initiation of breastfeeding among postnatal mothers. A cross sectional mixed method study was conducted using semi-structured interview schedule among the postnatal mothers in selected Hospital, Meghalaya. A total of 189 postnatal mothers were selected through consecutive sampling techniques out of which 17 were chosen purposely for the in-depth interview which aimed at identifying the barriers. Majority of the postnatal mothers had poor knowledge 61.9%, 54.5% had favorable attitudes towards early initiation of breastfeeding and 59.3% had initiated breastfeeding within one hour after delivery, whereas 40.7% did not initiated breastfeeding within one hour after delivery. Association was found between knowledge and educational status, occupation status and religion of the postnatal mothers. The common issues that emerged from the study are delay in handing over the baby to mother, significant family member influence, baby's condition, mother's condition and lack of experiences and knowledge. The study shows that although mothers had poor knowledge regarding early initiation of breastfeeding, they however, had favorable attitudes towards early initiation of breastfeeding but due to various barriers, they fail to initiate breastfeeding. Therefore, there is a need to address the existing gap in the knowledge of the mothers and to overcome the barriers towards early initiation of breastfeeding for promotion of breastfeeding practices. Introduction Early Initiation of Breastfeeding (EIBF) is "considered as the cornerstone of child survival and child's health" which provides essential nutrition and immunization against a range of infections and life-threatening ailments and prevents about 19.1% of all neonatal death [1, 2]. Early breastfeeding initiation is a responsibility, not a choice. Early Initiation of Breast Feeding (EIBF), which assure that the infant obtains colostrum, is the practice of giving a mother's breast milk to a newborn within an hour of birth [3]. Neonatal mortality risk increases linearly with time of breastfeeding initiation; children who started breastfeeding between 2-23 hours after birth had a 33% higher risk of mortality than those who started breastfeeding within the first hour after birth. Delayed breastfeeding initiation has been linked to an increased risk of coughing and difficulty breathing during the first six months of life. Neonatals who were fed within 24 hours after birth had a 100% increased risk [7-9] .