Assessment of Mothers’ Knowledge, Attitude and Self-Efficacy Regarding Early Initiation and Exclusive Breastfeeding

Exclusive breastfeeding is the first fundamental right of the infant as the sole source of nourishment for the first six months of life. Aim: To assess mothers’ knowledge, attitude and self-efficacy regarding early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding. Design: A descriptive research design was used in this study. Settings: Pediatric Departments, at Bab Al-Shariya University Hospitals affiliated to Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. Sample: A purposive sample composed of 146 mothers who have infants aged ranged from birth to 6 months. Tools: Three tools were used. 1st Tool: structured interviewing questionnaire consists of 3 parts: 1) Characteristics of mothers, 2) Characteristics of infants, 3) mothers’ knowledge toward early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding. 2nd Tool: Mothers’ attitude scale. 3rd Tool: Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale. Results: Less than two fifths of the studied mothers were aged 25