DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2020.v08i02.032

Pages: 514-519

Breast milk is essential for the baby. All babies should receive exclusive breast milk for 6 months. The aim of Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative by WHO/UNICEF is to promote exclusive breast feeding. Hospitals which follow the steps of successful breastfeeding are accredited Baby Friendly status. But the practice of these steps varies considerably. This study is to determine the percentage of women experiencing ten steps to successful breastfeeding in tertiary care centre and to assess the practice of breastfeeding at 6 and 10 weeks. This hospital based Prospective descriptive study was conducted among 170 mothers delivering a term baby at tertiary care centre. A validated questionnaire was used to assess the practice of ten steps to successful breastfeeding in the hospital at the time of discharge and status of breastfeeding was assessed at 6 weeks and 14 weeks among these mothers. The results described in a simple descriptive manner comparing with previous studies.In this study Majority of mothers (73.5%) had seen written breastfeeding policy, 45.9% received antenatal counselling, 35.9% started breastfeeding within 30 min, 58.8% by 2 hours, 75.9% by 4 hours. One of main reason for delay in initiation of breastfeeding being cesarean section.70.6% were given training regarding how to breastfeed, majority among these being primi gravida. The rate of exclusive breastfeeding was 60% during hospital stay.78.8% mothers were taught when to feed baby or to feed the baby if baby slept too long. Follow up study at 6 weeks and 14 weeks showed 94.8% and 79% of the mothers respectively following exclusive breastfeeding. The rate of exclusive breastfeeding is greatly influenced by the counseling and guidance mother receives antenatally as well as postnatally. It was particularly more if mother has experienced the ten steps of successful breastfeeding by WHO/UNICEF in a baby friendly hospital.