Assessment Of Knowledge Regarding Weaning Practices Among Mothers of Gulab Devi Educational Complex

Abstract

Breastfeeding is the process of feeding human milk to a newborn as well as some other type of formula milk or liquid or nonhuman milk. After 6 months, solid foods are introduced to the baby, known as weaning. Objective: To assess the knowledge of the mothers towards weaning practices of children up to 2 years of age. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Gulab Devi educational complex in Lahore. A sample of 100 respondents was taken from February 2022 to March 2022. Research questionnaires were used as a tool for data collection. Results: The mean age of weaning mothers ranges from 30-45, having 2-3 children. Most mothers from middle-class families living in the joint family system are postgraduate with no medical history. According to the results, 90% of mothers already had the knowledge. 56% of mothers introduce solid foods after the age of 6 months. 72% of mothers introduced rice and cereals as the first solid food to their babies. 74% of mothers think cow milk is not good for an infant at 1st milk. 72% of mothers had knowledge about weaning start time. 54% of the knowledge about weaning mothers learns from their grandparents. Conclusions: Weaning is the fundamental element of the child and is important for health and development. So it is important that the mother should have knowledge about weaning, its start time and solid foods for weaning. The main outcome of the study was that most of the mothers of infants had knowledge regarding weaning diets