Table 1
Socio-demographic characteristics: (N = 1000).
| Factors | Respondents (%) | Factors | Respondents (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | Parity | ||
| <20 years | 130 (13%) | Unmarried | 110 (11%) |
| 20–30 years | 546 (55%) | Nulliparous | 120 (12%) |
| 30–40 years | 206 (20%) | Primipara | 251 (25%) |
| >40 years | 118 (12%) | Multipara | 519 (52%) |
| Marital status | Employment | ||
| Unmarried | 110 (11%) | Yes | 90 (9%) |
| Married | 890 (89%) | No | 910 (91%) |
| Religion | Nutritional Status (BMI) | ||
| Hindu | 738 (74%) | <18.5 | 238 (24%) |
| Muslim | 244 (24%) | 18.5–24.9 | 620 (62%) |
| Others | 18 (2%) | >25 | 142 (14%) |
| Education | Socioeconomic status | ||
| No formal education | 538 (54%) | Class I | 28 (3%) |
| Primary education | 186 (18%) | Class II | 49 (5%) |
| High school | 130 (13%) | Class III | 112 (11%) |
| Intermediate | 120 (12%) | Class IV | 318 (32%) |
| Graduate and above | 26 (3%) | Class V | 493 (49%) |
Table 2
Women knowledge and attitude towards breastfeeding (Multiple responses).
| Knowledge | Respondents (%) | Attitude | Respondents (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child remains healthy | 636 (64%) | Breast feeding leads to loss of figure | 5 (0.5%) |
| More nutritious | 460 (46%) | Breast feeding is old fashioned | 21 (2%) |
| Gives natural immunity | 116 (12%) | Is pure & costs nothing | 519 (52%) |
| Helps in preventing conception | 138 (14%) | Fosters close bond | 710 (71%) |
| Mothers milk is the best milk | 714 (71.4%) | In public, it is embarrassing | 220 (22%) |
| Improves growth & development | 92 (9%) | Prevents going to work | 56 (6%) |
| Fore milk & hind milk | 2 (0.2%) |
Table 3
Practices regarding breastfeeding (n = 770) [excluding unmarried & nullipara].
| Practices | Respondents (%) | Practices | Respondents (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initiation of Breastfeeding | Complementary feed initiation | ||
| <1 hour | 346 (45%) | <1 month | 94 (12%) |
| 1–6 hours | 270 (35%) | 1–3 months | 102 (13%) |
| 6–24 hours | 56 (7.3%) | 3–6 months | 182 (24%) |
| >1 day | 98 (12.7%) | >6 months | 392 (51%) |
| Duration of exclusive Breast feeding | Pre- lacteal feed | ||
| <1 month | 128 (16.6%) | Given | 208 (27%) |
| 1–6 months | 234 (30.4%) | Not given | 562 (73%) |
| >6 months | 408 (53%) | ||
| Bottle feed | Colostrum Feeding | ||
| Given | 250 (33%) | Fed | 631 (82%) |
| Not given | 520 (67%) | Not Fed | 139 (18%) |
Table 4
Reasons for stopping breastfeeding (multiple responses).
| Reasons | Respondents (%) | Reasons | Respondents (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working mother | 28 (4%) | Subsequent pregnancy | 5 (0.6%) |
| Mother felt that breast milk was inadequate | 320 (41%) | Inverted nipple, cracked nipple, or breast abscess | 4 (0.6%) |
| Infant taking top feeds | 120 (15%) | Embarrassment in breastfeeding | 17 (2%) |
| Introduction of bottle milk | 230 (30%) | Mother felt that duration of breastfeed was adequate | 150 (19%) |
Table 5
Source of information regarding breast feeding (multiple responses).
| Sources | Respondents (%) | Sources | Respondents (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health personnel | 345 (35%) | Media or literature | 386 (39%) |
| Family/friend | 613 (61%) | Previous experience | 510 (57%) |
Table 6
Correlation of duration of exclusive breastfeeding with education and socioeconomic factors.
| Factors | Duration | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (p-value = < 0.001) | <1month | 1–6 months | >6 months |
| 70 (17.2%) | 108 (26.5%) | 230 (56.3%) |
| 22 (15%) | 22 (15%) | 103 (70%) |
| 17 (16.1%) | 47 (44.3%) | 42 (39.6%) |
| 18 (21.1%) | 42 (49.4%) | 25 (29.4%) |
| 1 (4.2%) | 18 (75%) | 5 (20.8%) |
| Employment (p-value = 0.005) | |||
| 4 (9.5%) | 22 (52.4%) | 16 (38%) |
| 124 (17%) | 212 (29.1%) | 392 (53.9%) |
| Socioeconomic status (p-value = 0.0004) | |||
| 3 (15.8%) | 10 (52.6%) | 6 (31.6%) |
| 5 (13.2%) | 22 (57.9%) | 11 (28.9%) |
| 9 (11.7%) | 33 (42.8%) | 35 (45.5%) |
| 51 (19.8%) | 67 (26.1%) | 139 (54.1%) |
| 60 (15.8%) | 107 (26.9%) | 212 (57.3%) |
Table 7
Correlation between initiation of breast feed with mode of delivery.
| Factors | Time of Initiation of Breastfeeding | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Delivery (p-value < 0.001) | <1 hour | 1–6 hours | 6–24 hours | >24 hours |
| 20 (25.3%) | 42 (53.1%) | 13 (16.5%) | 4 (5.1%) |
| 326 (47.2%) | 228 (33.1%) | 43 (6.2%) | 94 (13.6%) |
| Mode of Delivery (p-value < 0.001) | ||||
| 188 (38.7%) | 143 (29.4%) | 99 (20.4%) | 56 (11.5%) |
| 53 (20.5%) | 114 (44.2%) | 49 (19%) | 42 (16.3%) |
| 5 (19.2%) | 13 (50%) | 8 (30.8%) | 0 (0%) |