Knowledge And Attitude Towards Human Milk Banking Among Pregnant Women: A Correlative Study

Objectives Human breast milk is widely acknowledged as the best nutritional source for babies, providing unmatched nutritional, developmental, and immunological advantages. Human milk banks (HMBs) offer donor human milk, which is seen to be the safest and most efficient option when a mother’s own milk is unavailable for physiological, medical, or social reasons. Despite the growth of HMBs in India, maternal attitudes and understanding have a significant impact on their underutilisation and acceptance. The purpose of this study is to evaluate pregnant women’s knowledge and attitudes about human milk banking and to ascertain the correlation between the two. Material and Methods A total of 140 pregnant women attending the outpatient department of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Mangaluru, Karnataka, India, participated in a descriptive correlational study. A non-probability convenience sampling method was used to choose the participants. A standardised Likert attitude scale and a structured knowledge questionnaire were used to gather data. To ascertain the connection between knowledge and attitude, descriptive and inferential statistics were employed, along with Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results Regarding human milk banking, >50% of the participants (51.4%) showed average knowledge, compared to 26.4% who had poor knowledge and 22.1% who had strong knowledge. 55.7% of responders had a negative opinion of human milk banking. Knowledge and attitude were shown to have a somewhat favourable, statistically significant connection ( r = 0.464, p <0.001). While attitude was highly correlated with education and occupation, knowledge was significantly correlated with education, family type, and occupation. Conclusion The results show that although pregnant women have a moderate level of awareness, their attitudes regarding human milk banking are largely negative. The necessity of organised prenatal education and awareness campaigns to increase acceptance, use, and donation of donor human milk is shown by the positive association between knowledge and attitude. The study highlights the need for awareness programs regarding human milk banking and its importance.