Current Breast Feeding Practices among the Mothers of Infants - A Cross Sectional Study

Introduction: WHO advocates for Breastfeeding (BF) as the best source of food for optimal infant growth and development and recommends that Infants should be exclusively Breastfed for 6 months. Material and Method: A Cross- sectional study conducted at the UHC of Govt. Medical College, Miraj. Mothers of 250 Infants attending UHC, for routine immunization were interviewed about the BF patterns practiced by them and information was recorded in a pre-structured, semi- open questionnaire. Results: Out of 250, 248 (99.2%) infants were breast fed while only 2 (0.8%) were not breast fed. 144 (58%) infants had received pre-lacteal feeds. 72 (48.3%) infants after normal delivery were breast fed within 1 hour while 86 (86.9%) infants after LSCS were Breast fed >1hours after birth. Out of 154 (<6 months age), 49.3% were exclusively BF, till the current age of the infant, 42.4% predominantly and 7.8% partially BF. Out of 248, 94 were � 6 months age and among them 47.9% were exclusively BF, 12.7% predominantly BF and 39.3% partially BF. Conclusion : The study results show gap between current practices and WHO recommendations and constitute basis for designing interventions to bridge these gaps. Key-words : Breastfeeding (BF), Exclusive BF, predominant BF, partial BF.