Exploring breastfeeding knowledge and practices among mothers by socio-demographic profile and mode of delivery

Introduction: Breastfeeding is vital for maternal and infants’ health, yet many women lack knowledge and face challenges in practice, particularly in diverse socio-economic contexts. Objective: To generate evidence of current breastfeeding practices and knowledge in our population. Materials and Methods: It was A cross sectional study conducted in the Department of Pediatrics at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad Pakistan from May-October 2021. A sample of 320 was calculated using convenient sampling. Total of 80 women currently breastfeeding were enrolled in each of the four modes of childbirth (spontaneous vaginal delivery, induced vaginal delivery, elective caesarean section and emergency caesarean section). A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess participants breastfeeding knowledge and practices. Results: Regarding breastfeeding, 56.6% had insufficient knowledge, 28.4% had average and 15% were well-informed. In terms of breastfeeding practices, 54.1% performed poorly, while only 9.7% performed well. Ordinal logistic regression indicated that factors like age, mode of delivery, and knowledge significantly influenced breastfeeding practices. Each one-year increase in age raised the likelihood of well-executed practices by 1.2 times (p=0.02). Women with emergency caesarean sections were less likely to have good practices (OR=0.04, p=0.01). Moreover, those with average breastfeeding knowledge had an 87-fold greater chance of satisfactory practices compared to well-executed ones (p=0.001). Conclusion: A concerning gap was found in breastfeeding knowledge and practices among majority of the women enrolled in this study.