KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES OF INFANT FEEDING PRACTICES AMONG RURAL WOMEN IN EASTERN INDIA

BACKGROUND: Poor infant feeding practices and their consequences are one of the world's major problems and a serious obstacle to social and economic development.Breastfeeding is one of the most important determinants of child survival, birth spacing, and the prevention of childhood infections.The beneficial effects of breastfeeding depend on its initiation, duration, and the age at which the breastfed child is weaned.Breastfeeding practices vary among different regions and communities.AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of infant feeding and, to assess the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding practices among women in rural area of West Bengal, India.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on mothers of children less than two year of age attending the outpatient department of Malda Medical College and Hospital, a rural medical college in Eastern India.A total of 200 mothers were interviewed who were randomly selected.A structured, pretested and predesigned questionnaire was used to collect information on the socio-demographic profile and infant feeding practice.RESULTS: Mothers of male children were 65% and female children were 35%.44% were literate upto middle school and 28% with primary education.14% mothers were illiterate.52% of mothers had the knowledge about initiation of breast feeding within 1 hour of birth whereas only 28% practiced it.80% mothers had the knowledge of exclusive breast feeding but only 60% practiced it.24% of infants had received prelacteal feeds and only 2% breast fed upto 24 months.CONCLUSIONS: Despite higher rates of early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding, awareness of the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding was low.Creating an awareness of the advantages of breastfeeding will strengthen and support this common practice in rural communities and avoid early introduction of complementary foods for socio-cultural reasons.INTRODUCTION: Good nutrition is vital to ensure that the infant develops both physically and mentally to the fullest potential.Poor feeding practices are a major threat to social and economic development.Scientific research, such as the studies summarized in a 2007 review for the U.S Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and a 2007 review for the WHO (World Health Organization), have found numerous benefits of breastfeeding for the infant.According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, research shows that breast feeding provides advantages with regard to general health, growth, and development.Not breastfeeding significantly increases risk for a large number of acute and chronic diseases including lower respiratory infection, ear infections, bacteremia, bacterial meningitis, urinary tract infection, and necrotizing enterocolitis 1 .They state that there are a number of studies that show a possible protective effect of breast milk feeding against sudden infant death syndrome, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, lymphoma, allergic diseases, digestive diseases, and a possible enhancement of cognitive development 2 .But during the early 1900s breastfeeding started to be viewed negatively