European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: India is a land of diverse cultures and traditions. Infant feeding and rearing practices vary across communities, depending on social customs, traditional beliefs, literacy and socio-economic status of the family. These practices at times are not of any benefit to the newborn and can be harmful. Despite its rapid economic growth, India’s poor ranking in terms of infant mortality can be correlated to these factors influencing child feeding and rearing practices.
Methods: The study was conducted in three urban health training centers (UHTCs) which were selected by simple random sampling out of eight in Bhagalpur city. All the multiparous women who were in postnatal period were included in the study till sample size was reached. Data was collected after informed consent using pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed in SPSS.
Results: Out of 200 mothers, 69% of the mothers had initiated breastfeeding within standard norms and 28.5% had given pre-lacteal feeds to their babies which was significantly associated with religion and type of family of the mothers. Majority of the mothers (95.5%) had given colostrum and its association with type of family was significant. Majority of them (80.1%) had breastfed their baby on demand.
Conclusion: In spite of educational messages by health professionals, certain feeding practices are found unsatisfactory and certain harmful rearing practices are still prevalent in the community. This necessitates additional focus by the policy makers towards maternal and child health to ensure the needs to be fulfilled and to impose certain regulations against prevalent harmful practices in the community.