Abstract

Background: Breast milk is the safest and nutritious food for infant. Colostrum feeding provides nutrients and immunity to the newborn. Early initiations of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding practices are essential for both infants and mothers. Even though breastfeeding is almost universal in India, culture and tradition exhibit great impact in breastfeeding practice.
Objective: To study the beliefs and practice about breastfeeding and identify the impact of selected sociodemographic factors on the infant feeding practices in rural ethnic mothers.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2014 to April 2015 among 400 rural ethnic mothers having infants and attending Mobile Medical Unit under NRHM in Nasik, Maharashtra. Interview was done by using predesigned, semi-structured questionnaire. Result: The average age of respondents was 22.47 ± 2.58 years; most of them (67.3%) were from the age group 21–25 years. Average age at marriage was 17.5 ± 0.81 years, and average age at first pregnancy was 19.04 ± 0.77 years. Almost half (49.3%) of the respondents got married below the age of 18 years, and 75% of them were pregnant with their first baby when they were still at their teenage. Over 55% of the respondent belonged to scheduled tribes category. Majority of the women (42.3%) revealed less than 4 years of schooling, while 13.8% of them never attended school. Majority (61.3%) of the respondents were daily wage laborers. Colostrum feeding was observed in 88.8% study subjects, prelacteal feeding in 17.5%, early initiation of breastfeeding in 70.1%, and exclusive breastfeeding in 83.8%. Conclusion: Even though knowledge and practice of breastfeeding was better, early marriage and early conception were concerns that require attention.