Knowledge, Attitude and Practices about Colostrum Feeding among Pregnant Women in Military Hospital Rawalpindi of Pakistan

摘要

Background: It is well known that colostrum is important for promoting health, growth and development of the newborn, and it also helps to prevent against the infections. Breast feeding is a common practice in Pakistan but the importance of colostrums feeding is still poorly understood due to cultural variations. Objectives: The objectives are to assess the knowledge about the importance of colostrums feeding and to promote the practice of colostrums feeding in pregnant women. Methods: Data collection was done through semi-structured questionnaire regarding colostrum feeding among pregnant women. Gynaecology and Obstetrics Outpatient Department (OPD) and Antenatal Ward of Military Hospital Rawalpindi were selected for study purpose. Results: This study showed that 65% of women heard about colostrums from various sources like media, family and friends, and 35% heard from the health professional during antenatal visits. Only 6% of women knew that it is nutritious milk for the new born. Only women (9%) were aware about its protective effects and had knowledge that it helps to improve the growth of the babies and fight against infections. 35% of women perceived that there is something harmful which is not good for the newborn while 25% of women asked that this is the milk to be fed to baby and 15% of women asked this the milk to be discarded before feeding. There were still many women (39%) who lacked knowledge about colostrum, only 14% of the women in this study knew that the appropriate time for feeding colostrum is immediately after birth (1/2-1hour), whereas 86% of women starts feeding after 6 - 24 hrs. Majority of them who came from the rural areas were uneducated. Conclusion: Many women were aware about the importance of colostrum but the data still indicate that further efforts are required to improve the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of colostrums feeding.