DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2018.v06i02.013

Pages: 209-214

Breastfeeding is God’s gift to baby. Breast milk is easy, cheap and safe food, contains adequate amount of nutrients which is neccesaary for child development and contains antibodies which help to prevent infections. Breastfeeding is beneficial for mothers also in the form of natural contraception and prevent some diseases like breast cancer, ovarian cancer etc. The objective of this study was to find awareness and knowledge regarding breastfeeding in antenatal women. This study was a cross sectional study, carried out among randomly selected pregnant women at antenatal outpatient in Obstetrics and Gynecology department of Gangori hospital, SMS Medical College Jaipur. Data was collected through face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. Our findings revealed that majority of women were aware that breast milk is beneficiary for baby to prevent diseases and for physical growth. Majority of women had knowledge about benefits of breastfeeding for mother but most of the women did not know when to start breastfeeding after delivery. It is important to provide prenatal and antenatal education regarding breastfeeding to mothers and family members. We also recommend strengthening the public health education campaigning program to promote breast-feeding.