English

Abstract

BACKGROUND Early initiation of breast feeding implies putting the newborn baby to the mother’s breast as soon as possible after delivery, preferably within one hour. Colostrum or ‘first milk’ which is secreted soon after birth helps build nutrient stores in the child and is rich in protective immunoglobulins for the child. Early initiation helps the child to learn suckling fast leading to early secretion of breast milk. We intended to find out the determinants of early initiation of breast feeding. METHODS This is a cross-sectional study conducted from May to August 2019 in a tertiary care hospital. The sample size was 400. The study population consisted of mothers who delivered healthy term newborns in the obstetrics and gynaecology (O & G) ward of the hospital. Interview of the mothers was done using a predesigned and pretested questionnaire. Data entry was done on Microsoft Excel and analysis was done on Epi Info 7. RESULTS Mean age of the study participants was 25.66 ± 4.228. Majority of the respondents came from rural areas (61.25 %) and were homemakers (63.5 %). More than half the respondents had either middle or secondary school education. Previous information, mode of delivery, type of family, father’s and mother’s education and mother’s occupation were significant determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF). CONCLUSIONS The above study reveals some determinants of the practice of EIBF and efforts are needed in order to address these determinants, to improve this practice, especially in a tertiary care setup. KEYWORDS Breastfeeding, New-Born, Infant, Colostrum, Tertiary Healthcare