Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices among the Lactating Mothers: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Village of Chandigarh

1. Introduction: Early and exclusive breastfeeding is now recognized as one of the most effective interventions for child survival particularly to address morbidity and mortality related to three major conditions i.e. neonatal infections, diarrhea and pneumonia.
2. Aim: To study the infant and young child feeding practices among the lactating mothers of village Khuda Lahora of Chandigarh.
3. Objectives:

a. To assess the prevailing breast feeding practices adopted by the lactating mothers of village Khuda Lahora.
b. To identify the barriers which lead to inappropriate breast feeding practices.
c. To examine the complementary feeding given to the infants and young children of the village.
4. Methodology: The study was conducted in the one of the randomly selected village Khuda Lahora of the “city beautiful”-Chandigarh. The total population of the village is 3,476. There are 2,011 males and 1,456 females. There were 191 mothers who were registered in the sub centre of the village but only 167 participated in the study.
5. Results: The rate of exclusive breast feeding among the lactating mothers is found to be 22.7% and 46% of the mothers have some prior knowledge of breastfeeding. It was found that 71% of the respondents started complementary feeding at the age of 4-5 months. It is seen that 29% of the respondents gave diluted milk.