Breastfeeing situation of mothers with children under 24 months old in Yen Mo district, Ninh Binh

Abstract

A cross sectional study was conducted to describe the situation of breastfeeding of mothers with children under 24 months old in Yen Mo district, Ninh Binh. The sample size of 400 mothers having children under 24 months old was interviewed by a questionnaire form and in-depth interview. The results showed that 73.2% of mothers initiated early breastfeeding within 1 hours after delivery; 59% of mothers had knowledge about early initiation of breastfeeding after delivery; 86.5% of mothers knew that the discard colostrum is unnecessary and 75.0% of mothers interviewed knew that colostrum had effects on enhancing immunity. The percentage of exclusive breastfeeding in the frst 6 months of mothers was 34.2%; 66.2 % of interviewed had correct understanding about defnition of breastfeeding in the frst 6 months and 45.0% mothers knew that children under 6 months old should only be breastfeeded. It is essential to provide information, education and guidance for mothers on breastfeeding properly.