December 2017 · Volume 6 · Issue 12 Page 5429 International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology Ambike D et al. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Dec;6(12):5429-5434 www.ijrcog.org pISSN 2320-1770 | eISSN 2320-1789 Original Research Article Knowledge, awareness and breast-feeding practices of postnatal mothers in a rural teaching hospital: a cross sectional survey Deepali Ambike 1 , Abhijit Ambike 2 *, Swati Raje 3 , Sanjana Chincholikar 4 INTRODUCTION Breastfeeding is a basic human activity, vital to infant and maternal health and of immense economic value to household societies. WHO recommends that for the first six months of life, infants should be exclusively breastfed to achieve optimal growth, development and health. Thereafter, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods, while continuing to breastfeed up to 2 years or more. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is defined as infant feeding with human milk without the addition of any other liquids or solids. The 1 Department of Pediatrics, M.I.M.E.R Medical College, Talegaon Dabhade, Pune, Maharashtra, India 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, BK Walawalkar Medical College and Hospital, Dervan, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India 3 Department of Community Medicine, M.I.M.E.R Medical College, Talegaon Dabhade, Pune, Maharashtra, India 4 II Year MBBS Student, M.I.M.E.R Medical College, Talegaon Dabhade, Pune, India Received: 22 September 2017 Accepted: 27 October 2017 *Correspondence: Dr. Abhijit Ambike, E-mail: aambike@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Breastfeeding has several benefits for both the infants and mothers. Despite the evidence of the protective, immunological and psychological beneficial factors seen in breast milk, a decline in breastfeeding rates has been documented in India. The objective of the present study was to examine the knowledge, attitude and practices in breastfeeding in the postnatal mothers of a rural hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among randomly selected postnatal mothers in the postnatal ward of a rural teaching hospital. Data was collected by face to face interviews using a pre-validated structured questionnaire. Results: Significant difference was found in prevalence of knowledge about advantages of colostrum with respect to education, with less number of people being aware in lower class of education. (χ 2 =6.6) Statistically significant difference was also found in the prevalence of knowledge about advantages of breast feeding with respect to education trend (χ 2 =10.48). No significant association was seen with the knowledge provider (doctor/ relatives) regarding breast feeding practices. Significant difference was found in no. of women with knowledge about breast feeding with respect to parity. Less number of primigravida mothers were aware about advantages of breast feeding compared to multigravida women. (χ 2 =4.1). As against this, more number of primigravida mothers initiated breast feeding within 2 hours compared to multigravida women and difference was statistically significant (χ 2 =3.95). Conclusions: Our Findings show that prenatal and antenatal education of mothers on initiation of breastfeeding and colostrum along with proper method and techniques of breastfeeding will eliminate the problems and ignorance regarding same. We also recommend involvement of the nursing and social workers in the postnatal ward to encourage and counsel the mothers for proper breastfeeding practices. Keywords: Awareness, Breastfeeding, Knowledge, Mother DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20175255