Sci.Int.(Lahore),26(1),453-457,2014 ISSN 1013-5316; CODEN: SINTE 8 453 BREASTFEEDING KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF LACTATING MOTHERS OF NOOR PUR SHAHAN, ISLAMABAD Aftab Ahmed 1 , Abid Ghafoor Chaudhry 2 , Ansa Riaz 3 , Attiya Batool 4 , Haris Farooq 5 1 Anthropologist, Association of Social Development, Islamabad, 2 Department of Anthropology and Sociology PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, 3 Grant Officer, NRSP SGAFP, Islamabad 4,5 (Anthropology), PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, ABSTRACT: A Breastfeeding practice among lactating mothers’ is an attractive and important area of research among the students of medical science as well as social sciences. Breastfeeding practices not only depend on the lactating productivity of the woman but also on their geographical and environmental conditions. Present research focused on two dimensions of breastfeeding, (1) is prevailing level of awareness among lactating women about significance of breastfeeding and (2) is the actual practices adopted by these women of Noor Pur Shahan, Islamabad. To conduct this research a sample of 138 lactating mothers was systematically drawn. To collect the required data, a structured questionnaire was implemented after pre-testing. Results show maximum participation was from the women of age group 23- 26 years. Findings of the study demonstrated that 93.4% respondents confirmed that breastfeeding is healthy for newborn and out of total, 94.2% of the respondents have breastfed their newborns too, whereas only 33% of these mothers fed their newborns up to 06 months and discontinue afterwards and 52% had breastfed their newborns from 06 months to 30 months maximum. Responses against knowledge questions about the use of liquids other than milk showed that, 58.7% women opined that water and other supported liquids are not safe for newborn, and 33% responded otherwise. The low/shortage of milk was cited as major reason 44.9% factor behind not completing at least 06 months of breastfeeding. Whereas 48% of the respondents mentioned, doctor as the main source of information regarding breastfeeding importance. This research shows that current practices of breastfeeding in Noor Pur Shahan are quite similar to the existing findings studies conducted previously in Asia. Key Word: Breastfeeding, lactating women, supported liquids, breastfeeding practices INTRODUCTION "His mother bore him by strain after strain. His nursing (suckling) period lasts two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents." (Qur'an 31:14) Health expert Dr. Rafeh believed that current research depicted that, if newborns were breastfeed within the first hour of life, infant mortality can be reduced 22 percent. Early feeding secure the newborns from a range of diseases, establish bond among mothers and children, reduce the chances of breast cancer among mother and is a natural source of birth spacing [1]. A study of Pakistan which was carried out among the medical students to assess their knowledge of breast feeding in which 14% of students said about the colostrums that it should be discarded and 12% said it is harmful for the baby, so these are the traditional strong believes even running in educated families through their grandparents [2]. Around 15 million children under the age of 5 die every year partly from malnutrition. Well over 90% of these deaths occur in developing countries [3]. It is a conservative statement that lives of more than 1 million infants could be saved each year if all the babies were exclusively breastfed for the 1st 4-6 months of life [4]. Moreover a country likes Pakistan with trade deficit of Rs. 169 billion of scarce foreign exchange to purchase infant formula, a product which actually increases infant mortality and morbidity [5]. Benefits of breast-feeding continue in the weaning period as documented in some studies including one from Yemen which documented that mortality was lower in weaning children who continued to receive breast-milk than in bottle- fed weaning children [6]. In countries of the Indian subcontinent, breast feeding is usually started 2 to 3 days after delivery. During the interim, babies in South India are usually given water, diluted cow’s milk, honey, or dates [7]. Breast feeding practices has declined world-wide; exclusive breast feeding does not even seem to be the norm in any part of the world either. The increase use of infant formula and substitutes too early in a baby’s life contributes to the high degree of under development and malnutrition in our children. And babies given cow’s milk and formula early in their lives have over 60% more risk of being malnourished [8]. The practice of pre-lacteal feeds was shown to be more common (79%) in another study conducted in Hyderabad Pakistan, by Memon et al in 2006 [9]. The practice of pre- lacteal feeds is not only common in Pakistan but is frequently observed in many Asian countries [10-12]. WHO data shows that in rural India approximately 93% of the infants surveyed were given pre-lacteal feeds for the first two days of life. Infants in Bangladesh are reported to be fed honey or mustard oil for 3 days in combination with or followed by breastfeeding for a month [13]. In most of the areas of Pakistan, the child bearing females were focused on breastfeed to their child. One important thing was that Pakistani females (especially those who belong to rural cultures) started other liquid items as supporting feed like, rose water, cow/buffalo milk, sweetened water, honey etc., along with their breastfeed to