Knowledge on Breast Engorgement and Its Management Among Postnatal Mothers Admitted in Selected Hospitals of Guwahati, Assam in a View to Develop an Information Booklet

Background: Breast feeding is an unequal way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of a baby.The main reason for considering the breast feeding as important is that, it is an essential time of bonding between mother and baby. However many mothers experience painful, sore nipples during breast feeding and stops nursing before they intended. Breast engorgement is the most common complication during the postnatal period.Breast engorgement typically occurs during the transition from producing colostrum to mature milk. It can also happen if nursing mothers miss several feedings or don't express enough milk.So, it is important to follow proper breast feeding techniques to prevent breast engorgement, the commonest problem in the early postnatal period. Title of the study: “A study to assess the Knowledge on Breast engorgement and its Management among Postnatal Mothers admitted in selected Hospitals of Guwahati, Assam in a view to develop and Information booklet.” Methodology: A descriptive design was adopted for the study. The sample consists of 136 postnatal mothers who were selected using convenience sampling technique from three conveniently selected hospitals namely, Pratiksha hospital, Satribari Christian hospital and Marwari Maternity hospital of Guwahati, Assam. Data were collected using a structured interview schedule to assess the knowledge on breast engorgement and its management. Results: The findings of the study revealed that out of 136 postnatal mothersmajority i.e. 105 (77.2%) had moderate knowledge, 21 (15.4%) had adequate knowledge and 10 (7.4%) had inadequate knowledge with mean score 9.79 and SD 2.38.The overall statistical findingsshowssignificant association in regards to educational qualification and previous knowledgeon breastengorgement.Whereas, demographic variables such as age, religion, area of residence and occupational status of postnatal mothers were found non significant at 0.05 level ofsignificance. Conclusion: The findings clearly suggest that the majority of the postnatal mothers had moderate knowledge redarding breast engorgement and its management. Therefore keeping in the mind the study findings, the researcher developed and distributed an information booklet to improve the knowledge on breast engorgement and its management