Knowledge and Practice of Breastfeeding and Complementary Feeding Among Mothers of Under One Year Age Children

Introduction: Breastmilk is the only natural source of food for newborn baby, providing all necessary nutrients and meeting the energy requirement of the newborn for the first few months of life. In India, as per the national family health survey-4, only about half of the infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed which is really alarming. To add to this jeopardy, the early initiation of breastfeeds within 1 hour of birth in many Indian states is also alarmingly low. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 100 mothers visiting our service hospital in Jammu & Kashmir, India over a period of six months using a questionnaire-based interview. Results: The study found that most of our subject population had good breastfeeding knowledge. 67% mothers had knowledge of breastfeeding within an hour of birth. Majority knew that breastmilk protects baby from various infections and that colostrum is the first immunization for the baby. 86% mothers knew about complementary feeding at six months. Most of the mothers planned to breastfeed their baby for more than six months (97 %).