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 mothers 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.