BREASTFEEDING PRACTICES IN A RURAL COMMUNITY IN KEDAH

Breast feeding has been actively encouraged in Malaysia in the last few years in all public hospitals. This study proposes to find out the prevalence of breast feeding in three villages in a rural community in Kedah, Malaysia. This was a cross sectional study on breastfeedingpractices in Kubang Pasu, a district of Kedah. Majority of the mothers initiated breastfeeding but exclusive breastfeeding was only 21% for four months and predominant breastfeeding was about 12.6%. The breastfeeding practice was more prevalent among women from the higher educational strata and higher income than those from the lower strata and lower income (p 0.05). Mothers with a positive attitude on breastfeeding and those who possess a higher knowledge were associated with a longer mean total duration of breastfeeding (p 0.05). Spouse and family members played an important role in building up a mother’s confidence to breast feed her child. Majority of the mothers received breast feeding information before birth from mainly the doctors and nurses. Older mothers, house wives and mothers with formal education practiced a longer duration of breast feeding (p 0.05). The study also showed that there is an increase in the knowledge of breast feeding among the mothers and that they have a positive attitude to breastfeeding. Most of the mothers initiated breast feeding early and they received support on breastfeeding from the nurses and doctors.