Perceptions and Knowledge Regarding Breast Feeding amongst Mothers Attending Antenatal Clinic in Rural Area of Maharashtra

As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. The role of antenatal mothers in this aspect is of paramount importance, as their sensitization about adopting breastfeeding practices prior to child birth is crucial. The present study attempted to assess the perceptions and knowledge about breast feeding amongst mothers attending antenatal clinic in rural area of Maharashtra. A cross sectional study was conducted at one of the randomly selected tertiary health care hospitals in Pune District. A pretested questionnaire was distributed to 350 antenatal mothers and responses were collected. The data was entered in Microsoft office excel sheet and analyzed. Majority (58%) of mothers were in the age group of 18-23 years followed by 24-29 years of age group and 30-35 years of age group. In present study, 151 (43.14%) mothers were educated up to secondary level and percentage of illiterate mothers was less i.e. 3.14%. The study revealed inadequacies in the knowledge of breast feeding amongst antenatal mothers about certain aspects like exclusive breast feeding, breast feeding during diarrhoea etc. However, good knowledge was observed about some aspects like colostrum,weaning and breast care etc.