A Study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Breastfeeding among Mothers of Under 5 Children in Tripura: A Rural Urban Comparison

Background: Breastfeeding is a basic human activity, vital to infant and maternal health. Despite strong evidences in support of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and awareness, its prevalence has remained low worldwide. Objective: The objective of the present study was to compare the knowledge, attitude and practices towards breast feeding and infant feeding practices between urban and rural mothers of under 5 children in Tripura, India. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was done in rural field practice area and in the urban field practice area under Department of Community Medicine, Tripura Medical College &Dr. BRAM Teaching Hospital. Data was collected by the researchers through face-to-face interview, by house to house visit. Collected data was compiled and analysed on Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v.16). P value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The study showed 66.7% mothers had good knowledge about breastfeeding in both urban and rural population. Majority of mothers aged less than 20 years and the highly-educated mothers had a good knowledge about the meaning of exclusive breastfeeding. Majority of the participants had good practice of breastfeeding which was higher among the age group of 20-30 years. There was a positive association between higher socio economic status and mothers having institutional deliveries with breastfeeding practices. Breastfeeding counselling, socio economic status, literacy and age of the mother had a significant influence on breastfeeding patterns and breastfeeding knowledge. Conclusion: This study showed approximately two third of the study population had good knowledge on breastfeeding. Educated mothers had more good practice than illiterate mothers. Mothers of urban area had more positive attitude towards breastfeeding compared to mothers of rural area. Awareness about importance of exclusive breastfeeding can enhance knowledge, attitude and practice of breastfeeding among both urban and rural population.