RESUMEN
Background: The WHO recommends that mothers worldwide to initiate breastfeeding within an hour of delivery to achieve optimal growth, development and health but the breastfeeding rates remain far below the recommended standards. The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of delay in initiation of breast feeding, to identify various factors which determine the initiation of breastfeeding and to correlate their association with delayed onset of breast feeding.Methods: Hundred and thirty six postnatal women, who delivered in Santosh Medical College and Hospital, Ghaziabad, were recruited in the study. They were interviewed after their informed consent using a pretested structured questionnaire. Socio-demographic and obstetric factors were compared between subjects who initiated breast feeding in less than and more than 1 hours. Frequencies were calculated for different variables. Data was statistically analyzed and p value of <0.05 was taken significant.Results: The prevalence of delay in initiation of breast feeding in our study was found to be 74.2% (n=101).The mean time of initiation of breast feeding was 18.43 hours. Significant association (p <0.05) was found in various sociodemographic, obstetrical and social factors.Conclusions: Identifying mothers at risk of delayed breastfeeding initiation should be the target for breastfeeding promotion during prenatal, antenatal as well as postnatal period. Public health officials and health care providers should consider interventions to promote and support early initiation of breast feeding.
RESUMEN
Background: Early or timely initiation of breastfeeding, specifically within 1 hour of birth has benefits for survival and beyond and it is recommended by the World Health Organization. Breastfeeding initiation after the first hour of birth doubles the risk of neonatal mortality. The present study has been conducted to estimate the prevalence and determine the factors affecting early initiation of breastfeeding in rural areas of Dibrugarh, district, Assam. Methods: Community based cross sectional study from May 2017 to April 2018 among mothers having children in the age group 0 to 23 months in the rural areas of Dibrugarh district. The sample size calculated for the study was 360 children. Results: The results were analyzed for 334 children. Prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding was found to be 54.8%. On multivariate regression analysis the occupation and education of mothers, number of antenatal checkup visits, type of delivery and religion were found to be independently associated with early initiation of breastfeeding. Conclusions: This study reveals that the early initiation of breast feeding is lower in rural areas of Dibrugarh district. The findings clearly highlight the importance of imparting health education to family members and mothers right from antenatal period on infant and child feeding practices.