Knowledge, attitude, and practice of breastfeeding and weaning among mothers of children under 2 years of age in a village in Assiut Governorate, Egypt

Abstract

Aim This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of mothers of infants and young children (0–23 months) in a rural area in Upper Egypt regarding breastfeeding (BF), complementary feeding, and weaning and to find the relation between knowledge and attitude of mothers and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) practice. Subjects and methods A crosssectional study was conducted on 308 rural mothers who attended the Rural Health Unit of Bany-Semaiae village, Abou-Teeg District, Assiut Governorate, seeking health care for themselves or for their children and accompanying a child aged less than 2 years. Results The study revealed that most of the studied mothers knew that BF is the best nutritive source for the baby in the first 6 months and had good knowledge about the benefits of BF for child. Regarding weaning, most of the mothers defined weaning as BF cessation. Most of the mothers agreed that BF protects child from infection, 96.6% agreed that it is the best milk to child's health, 37% agreed that breast milk may alter body shape of the mother, and 31.5% agreed that BF should be stopped during mother's illness. Overall, 39.6% initiated BF immediately after delivery, and 74.4% of the mothers offered prelacteal feeds to baby in the first 3 days after delivery. Regarding knowledge level, 24.4% of mothers had good knowledge. Concerning mother's attitude toward feeding children, 70.1% of mothers had a positive attitude. EBF in the first 6 months was 44.2% and continued BF at 1 year was 60.6% of study children. It was found that mother's attitude level is significantly associated with EBF but not associated with knowledge level. Conclusion The study concluded that mothers' feeding practice of their children was less satisfactory, and there is a need for enhancing EBF through launching health education campaigns targeting the concerned mothers and their families.