DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2018.v06i01.035

Pages: 157-159

Breastfeeding gives all neonates the best nutritional start in life. Successful breastfeeding depends, in part, on the support of the nursing staff caring for the breastfeeding. Although lactation is an automatic physiological process, breastfeeding is a learned behavior that is most successful in supportive environment. The present study was done to assess the knowledge, attitude and awareness of nursing staff and mothers regarding breastfeeding. The study was included of 38 nursing staff and 89 mothers of babies coming to the pediatric department of the Andaman and Nicobar Institute of Medical Sciences (ANIIMS) hospital. The study was done over a period of 8 months from Oct 2016 to June 2017. A specially prepared questionnaire was used for the study consisting of knowledge of breastfeeding, its importance, effect on baby’s health, its nutrient value, etc. The scores of the participants were summated and analysis was done with the help of student’s t test. It was found that the nursing staff was having more knowledge and awareness as compared to the mothers and the difference was significant statistically. But still it was lacking in certain areas and needs improvement. The knowledge and awareness of the nursing staff and mothers was needs to be improved.