Assessment of infant feeding practices at a tertiary care hospital

Objective: To assess the practice and knowledge of mothers regarding breast feeding, complimentary feeding, and to find out socio-economic correlates of feeding practices. Methods: A cross sectional survey conducted at paediatric department of Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) from Jan-Dec 2008. During that period 500 mothers with children less than 24 months were included. Infant feeding patterns were assessed in relation to recommendations and household socio-economic factors by an Interview Technique. Results: Out of 500 mothers, 8.4% started exclusive breast feeding (EBF) while Pre-lacteal use was seen in 31.6%. Regarding the duration 52.2% mothers continued breast feeding for 2 years. Median duration of EBF was 3.5 months. It was seen that 60% of the 0-5 month-old infants breastfed 8 or more times per day. However, exclusiveness of breast feeding decreased from 60% at (0-2 months) to 40% (3-5 months). Majority 64.2% were poor and 61.5% had no education. There is a statistically significant difference in feeding practices of educated and uneducated (P 0.0001) and also in poor and middle class mothers (P 0.0003). Regarding, age of their last born babies, 180 babies were under 6 months, and 320 were 6 to 23 months of age. The knowledge about complimentary feeding (CF) was inadequate. Around 21% of 2-3 months old babies received complementary food and 19% of 6-8 month-olds were only breastfed. In 78% mothers CF was advised by family members while in 23% mothers by doctors. Conclusion: Exclusive breastfeeding was not maintained upto recommended age of 6 months. Knowledge about CF was lacking in the mothers. Regarding, mothers education and socioeconomic conditions, a positive correlation was noted with feeding practices.