Knowledge, practices and concerns regarding exclusive breastfeeding for six months among mothers of infants in a suburban setting in Sri Lanka.

Part of the JOL Project Supported by INASP Sri Lanka Journals OnLine (SLJOL) is a service to provide access to Sri Lankan published research, and increase worldwide knowledge of indigenous scholarship. Read more. Log in Username Password Remember me Search Journal Content All Authors Title Abstract Index terms Full Text Browse •By Issue •By Author •By Title •Other Journals Popular Articles » Incidence of breast and nipple abnormalities among primigravid women in Sri Lanka 2576 views » BCG vaccination scars of childen under five years in a tertiary care hospital 2513 views » Megalopenis in an infant with VACTERL association 2314 views » Prevalence of talipes equinovarus, congenital dislocation of the hip, cleft lip/cleft palate, Down syndrome and neural tube defects among live newborns in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka 2096 views » Two cases of monkey tapeworm (Bertiella studeri) infestation from Sabaragamuwa Province 2050 views » Mycoplasma pneumoniae: An unrecognized cause of pyrexia of unknown origin 1752 views » A survey of breakfast practices of 4-12 year old children 1750 views About The Authors MP Senanayake Professor, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo Sri Lanka HMLN Parakramadasa Registered Medical Officer, Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Colombo Sri Lanka Article Tools Print this article Indexing metadata How to cite item Review policy Email this article (Login required) Email the author (Login required) Information •For Readers •For Authors •For Librarians Home > Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health > Vol 41, No 1 (2012) Knowledge, practices and concerns regarding exclusive breastfeeding for six months among mothers of infants in a suburban setting in Sri Lanka B L Kamal Dhammika, Nalika S Gunawardena Abstract Objective: To assess the knowledge, practices and concerns on six months exclusive breastfeeding among mothers. Method: In a community based household survey in Kaduwela MOH area, 217 mothers with a baby aged <1 year were interviewed. Results: Of the mothers, 45% had >6 months old babies. All mothers knew the recommended duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Advantages of breastfeeding to the child were well known. Among those with ≤6 month old babies, current exclusive breastfeeding rate was 85%. Of those with >6 months old babies, 72% had exclusively breastfed them for 6 months. Mothers with ≤6 months old babies not being exclusively breast fed and the mothers with >6 months old babies not exclusively breastfed for 6 months, indicated that having to return to work (50%) and their opinions regarding amount of milk being inadequate (44%) and nutrients being inadequate (18%) as the reasons for not exclusively breast feeding up to the recommended age. Conclusions: Current breast feeding rate and proportions exclusively breast fed were high. Knowledge regarding the duration of breast feeding and other essential aspects was good.