A cross-sectional study of knowledge, attitude, and practice toward breastfeeding among postnatal mothers delivering at a tertiary care center in Garhwal, India

Background: Despite several initiatives taken, exclusive breastfeeding rates remain low. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices of breastfeeding and to assess factors associated with breastfeeding practices among postnatal mothers delivering in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2018 to August 2018 among postpartum mothers who were selected through convenient nonrandom sampling. A semi-structured questionnaire including the participants' data, knowledge, attitude, and practices was used. Results: A total of 361 postnatal mothers participated in the study. 88.92% knew that breastfeeding should be continued for 6 months after birth and almost 64.81% initiated breastfeeding within 1 h of birth. 26.59% of the women discarded colostrum. 16.35% of the mothers gave prelacteal feeds, with formula milk being the most common prelacteal feed. 82.82% of the mothers did not receive breastfeeding counseling during antenatal visits. Multiparous women, those undergoing vaginal delivery (VD), and those living in joint family were more likely to initiate breastfeeding within 1 h of birth as compared to primiparous women, those undergoing cesarean section, and those living with nuclear families (P < 0.05). A significant difference was also noted in terms of giving prelacteal feeds in those undergoing cesarean section as compared to VD (23.71% vs. 13.63%, P = 0.0217). Conclusion: This study revealed that the rate of early initiation of breastfeeding is still low.