Barriers to exclusive breastfeeding in first 6 months of life in infants born in a tertiary care center in Hyderabad

Abstract

Background: Exclusive breast feeding during first 6-months has been proven to ensure growth and development of children. The habit of Exclusive breast feeding is often overlooked by mothers due to various factors. Therefore, this study aims to identify the barriers to Exclusive Breast Feeding. Methods: This is a prospective study conducted from August 2018 to October 2020 in a tertiary care hospital in Hyderabad among 155 mothers with neonate to 6 months old infants. Data was collected through face-to-face interview using premade questionnaire and a predetermined sample size of 155 was considered. Results: The prevalence of exclusive breast feeding was 20%. The barriers to exclusive breastfeeding practice were identified as lower socio-economic status (59.4%), Lack of formal education (52.9%), lack of counselling about breast feeding (10.3%), early return to work (32.2%), poor family support (49.03%), 22-25years mean age group (36.7%) , use of bottle feeding (16.3%) and pacifiers (12.2%). It was also observed that mothers experienced difficulties such as cracks (2.58%) and suction problems (2.58%) currently, and breast pain (2.58%) previously. Conclusions: Promoting education of women especially in lower socio-economic sector and emphasizing need of avoiding complementary feeding rather counselling women regarding importance of exclusive breastfeeding during first 6-months and negative impact of early return to work, and providing health care for the difficulties faced during breastfeeding and encouraging family support are recommendations to improve exclusive breastfeeding practice.