Abstract

To estimate the prevalence rate of early initiation of breast feeding within 1 hour of delivery and evaluate the factors influencing - A prospective observational study at a tertiary care hospital

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding, and evaluate the factors influencing it. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at IGIMS, Patna with 205 participants after ethical approval. The details of mothers, including their sociodemographic profile, time and date, and mode of delivery along with the time of initiation of breastfeeding were noted. Apgar score and birth weight of the newborn was noted as well along with causes of delay in early initiation of breastfeeding. Results: The mean age was 26.13 years ± 3.89 years. 137 (66.7%) of the participants had a vaginal delivery. 68 (33.3%) of the participants had a cesarean delivery. 55 (80.9%) participants had a reason for the delay; either the mother or neonate became unstable, so timely breastfeeding could not be done. 13 (19.1%) of the neonates had a delay due to a lack of motivation from hospital staff. Conclusion: Early initiation of breastfeeding is not an easy feat. Our study has shown that counseling the hospital staff regarding the significance of early initiation of breastfeeding is as important as counseling the mother. Also, cesarean sections had more delays than vaginal deliveries.

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