Effect of Educational Intervention on Breast Feeding Practices in Tertiary Care Hospital, Gwalior Madhya Pradesh

Corresponding Author: Dr. Gunvant Singh Eske, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics GRMC Gwalior, MP, India , Email: gunvant987@gmail.com ................................................................................................................................................... Abstract Introduction: Evaluation of the effectof educational intervention on early initiation of breast feeding in full term normally delivered baby 1 & 6 months andfactors affectingbreast feeding. Methods: interventional study with subjects as mothers with vaginal delivered newborns excluding preterm, VLBW/ LBW /IUGR babies, newborn with medical or surgical problems and whose child didn’t survive Cases were pregnant women attending antenatal clinic of KRH (n=124) and controls were mothersdelivered at government hospital except KRH. (n=120). Mothers counseled antenatally and helped for initiation of breast feeding immediately after birth and again counseled individually at discharge, on follow up at end of1st and 6months. In control group breast feeding practices were recorded at 1 and 6 months after birth without any counseling. Results: There were 76.8% (n=80) mothers who had early initiation of breast feedingin interventional groupcompared to 10.56% (n=12) in non-interventional group with odds ratio of 32. 93 and 83% mothers in interventional group were practicing EBF (p = 0.01) against only 63%, and 49% mothersat 1 and 6 months respectively in non-interventional group. Effect of counseling in cases for EBF was more in primiparous (70.83% and 91.30%) than in multiparous (29.16% and 60.41%) at 1 and 6 months respectively (p = 0.01and 0.04). Conclusion: counseling antenatally and at regular intervals significantly increase early initiation and sustainedexclusive breast feeding. This influence primiparous mothers more.