ASSESSMENT OF EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING (EBF) KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES AMONG LACTATING MOTHERS IN SANGHAR, SINDH

Objective: To assess the knowledge and practices regarding Exclusive Breastfeeding among lactating mothers. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Shadadpur Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) Hospital, district Sanghar, Sindh Pakistan over a period of three months. Methodology: It was a cross sectional study conducted in district Sanghar Sindh on 377 lactating mothers selected by purposive sampling. Pre-structured questionnaire was used. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS software 20. Frequencies and percentages were computed for various variables Results: Total 377 respondents were included in the study whose ages ranged from 20 to 40 years. It was found that 233 (61.8%) started feeding their newborn in the first half hour after delivery. A significant difference was found between knowledge about breastfeeding within the first half hour after delivery, benefits of colostrum, knowledge about pre lacteal feed, according to the teachings of Holy Quran about breastfeeding, and its benefits to mother, putting the baby to breast after delivery, difficulty in starting feeding, feeding timings, hands wash and breast cleaning. Usually mothers expressed milk for the child (p-value