Breast Feeding and Weaning Practices of Mothers in a Rural Area – a Cross-sectional Study

Background: Breastfeeding has been a universally accepted practice. Due to awareness in urban areas breastfeeding is practiced by almost all mothers whereas mothers in rural areas practice lesser. This might be due to varied factors like female literacy, low awareness etc. Aims & Objective: To find out the pattern of breast feeding practices in the rural mothers of Nagamangala Taluk, Mandya District. Material and Methods: Mothers with children who were 9 months old and above who came to Bellur PHC for measles vaccination and booster doses of DPT and OPV were included in the study and the data was collected using a pre-tested, structured questionnaire. The study was done for five months from January 2010 To May 2010). Results were analyzed using Percentages, Chi Square test. Results: 28% of the mothers initiated breastfeeding within 60 minutes; prelacteal feeds used were cow’s milk, jaggery water and honey. Only 35% mothers fed their infants exclusively for the optimal duration of 6 months and 36% mothers weaned their infants prematurely. The most common weaning food was cow’s milk. Conclusion: Early breast feeding pattern was found to be low and prevalence of exclusive breast feeding and timely weaning was low. Key-Words: Breastfeeding; Weaning; Infant Feeding; Rural; Prevalence