Assessment of breast-feeding and weaning practices of under-fives and their associated co-morbidities in urban and rural areas of Ahmedabad City, Gujarat, India

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction: Shaping up the post-2015 development agenda is of crucial importance in the development process around the Globe as 20151 was the last year of milllenium development goals. It is the right time to asses our own progress vis-a-vis the Millennium development goals. Appropriate feeding and weaning practices are the key contributor for decreasing morbidities and mortalities in under-five children. As per national family health survey-5 (NFHS-5), only 55.8% of the Indian infants between 0 and 6 months were exclusively breastfed in Gujarat. Children age 6-8 months receiving solid or semi-solid food and breast milk were only 49.4% in Gujarat. Only 5.8% of breastfeeding infants aged 6-23 months receive an adequate diet in Gujarat. Hence the following study was done to know the practice of breastfeeding and weaning in mothers of urban and rural area of Ahmedabad city, Gujarat. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to describe the breastfeeding and newborn care practices and the factors affecting the initiation and duration of breastfeeding in urban and rural areas of Ahmedabad city, Gujarat and the secondary objective was to describe the comorbidities associated with them. Methods: Cross-sectional study was done in anganwadis of slums of urban and rural field practice area of B.J. Medical College, Ahmedabad. Results: Half of the under-five children were provided jaggery as pre-lacteal feed both in urban (45%) and rural (53%) area. In urban area most common reason for providing pre lacteal feeds was due to family customs (55%) followed by their belief that it leads to help in removal of meconium from gut (22%) followed by as advised from their relatives (23%) as compared to in rural area where there was belief that it leads to help in removal of meconium from gut (52%) followed by family customs (31%) and advise from relatives (17%). There were 7.5% under-five children in urban area in whom breastfeeding was not initiated immediately compared to rural area in which there were 42% under-five children. Conclusion: Frequent occurrence of acute illness among under-fives may have lead to undernutrition.