BREASTFEEDING PRACTICES: ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AMONG COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS IN LUCKNOW DISTRICT – CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: The World Health Organisation recommends mothers to exclusively breastfeed infants for the rst six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development, and health. Appropriate feeding practice is the most cost-effective intervention to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality. This study thereby assessed the knowledge regarding breastfeeding practices among Community Health Workers who serve as the rst point of intervention to enhance community knowledge. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Primary Health Centre of Lucknow district among 102 community health workers between June 2023 to July 2023. Data collection was done by in-person interview after taking verbal informed consent from community health workers through Google forms. Data was analysed using SPSS Version 24. Result: Among 102 community health workers, 49.47% and 78.57% had adequate knowledge regarding attachment and positioning respectively while 72.92% had adequate knowledge regarding expression of breastmilk. ANMs showed signicantly higher knowledge levels regarding breastfeeding practices as compared to ASHAs. Conclusion: Most community health workers had adequate knowledge regarding positioning during breastfeeding and expression of breastmilk. Further knowledge can be enhanced by periodic training sessions.