Breastfeeding Practices in Children upto Six Months of Age Attending Pediatrics Outpatient Department

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the frequency of breastfeeding practices in children up to six months of age attending the Pediatrics Outpatient Department of Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital, Swat. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pediatrics, Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital, Swat; duration of six months after synopsis approval. Methodology: A total of 116 children aged 1–6 months, along with their mothers, were included using non-probability consecutive sampling. Inclusion criteria were children aged 1–6 months and mothers aged 18–35 years. Children with congenital heart disease, lung malformations, or whose parents refused consent were excluded. Data were collected through structured proformas, documenting sociodemographic characteristics and breastfeeding practices categorized as exclusive, partial, or predominant. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 25. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables, while means ± SD were calculated for continuous variables. Post-stratification chi-square test was applied with a p-value <0.05 considered significant. Results: Among 116 children, the mean age was 3.2 ± 1.4 months, and the mean maternal age was 26.7 ± 4.5 years. Exclusive breastfeeding was reported in 23.2% of infants, partial breastfeeding in 48.6%, and predominant breastfeeding in 8.2%. The remaining 20% relied primarily on formula feeding. Significant associations were found between breastfeeding practices and maternal employment status (p=0.03) as well as place of residence (p=0.04). No significant association was observed with maternal age or birth weight. Conclusion: Exclusive breastfeeding practices remain suboptimal in the study population, with a majority relying on partial or mixed feeding. Interventions targeting maternal education, awareness campaigns, and policy support are essential to improve exclusive breastfeeding rates in resource-limited settings.

Keywords: Breastfeeding practices, exclusive breastfeeding, partial breastfeeding, pediatrics, infant nutrition.