Perception and practices of breastfeeding of infants 0-6 months in an urban and a semi-urban community in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE To investigate mother's perception and practices about breastfeeding and their socio-demographic correlate in infants equal to or less than 6 months. METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried out on 200 mother-infant pairs who visited the health care centers, Bilal Colony (semi-urban) and the Aga Khan University (urban), for their well baby follow-ups and vaccination using convenient sampling. Frequencies and percentages were computed and Chi-square was used to find associations between socio-demographics of mothers and their perception and practices about breastfeeding. RESULTS Exclusive breastfeeding was reported by about 54% of the mothers. Thirty-five percent of the mothers gave prelacteal feed, 14% discarded colostrum and 43% woke up their infant to feed if time had exceeded 2 hours. Majority of the females were aware of the advantages (92%) and the disadvantages (85%) of breastfeeding. However, the awareness of positive feedback relationship of milk production and sucking was lacking and breast feeding was considered to cause weakness in mothers. CONCLUSION Despite the efforts of health policy makers, the results show a situation that is not improving. Women were aware of the advantages and disadvantages of breast and bottle feeding but a disparity was observed between their perception and practices.