Knowledge gaps related to breastfeeding and immunization in the mothers of infants with congenital heart diseases: An urgent concern

Abstract

BackgroundInfants born with congenital heart diseases are extremely vulnerable to infections. ObjectivesWe explored the knowledge and practices of the mothers of infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) related to breastfeeding and immunization and also assessed the breastfeeding rate and immunization coverage of infants with CHD. MethodIn a cross-sectional study, mothers (N = 100) of infants with congenital heart disease attending the outdoor patient department (OPD) were enrolled using convenience sampling. A structured self-developed pretested and validated knowledge questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26.0 for windows. ResultThe mean age of the mothers was 26.57 years (SD ± 4.1), with most (59) mothers having one child and mothers educated up to secondary level (44). The median age of the infants was 4.35 months (IQR, 2–12). The median breastfeeding and immunization knowledge scores of the mothers were 9 (6.5–10.0) and 4.5 (2–6) respectively. A significant number of mothers had poor knowledge related to immunization (83) and breastfeeding (33). The majority of infants were either partially breastfed or not breastfed (69) and partially vaccinated (66) at the time of the survey. ConclusionA significant remediable gap was observed in the knowledge of the mothers of infants with CHD, requiring a regular educational session on breastfeeding and immunization in the follow-up OPD by the health care providers.