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ANALYSIS OF EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING PRACTICES IN WORKING WOMEN OF PAKISTAN: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Tahira shaheen, Shafqat, Komal Mushtaq

Introduction: Breast milk offers multiple benefits to the health of mother as well as to the health of new borns and infants. Aims and objectives: The main objective of the study is to analyse the exclusive breastfeeding practices in working women of Pakistan. Material and methods: This cross sectional study was conducted. The data was collected from 100 women’s of age between 18 to 40 years, who had initiated breastfeeding prior to the survey and returned to work at the time of the interview were included. Women working as doctors, teachers, nurses and bankers in public (government) setup were included. The data was collected using interview method by pre-structured questionnaire. Results: The data was collected from 100 women’s. The overall mean age was 29.6±6.3 years. Besides, 100 (45.7%) participants were aged between 20-29 years, 37.4% between 30-39 years, 9.2% were 40 years or above and 7.7% were aged below 20 years. Also, 42.8% participants were graduates or postgraduates while 28.7% were professionals. The mean number of children per mother was 2.2±1.2 (range: 1 to 7). Regarding monthly income, it was significantly high among doctors as compared to other professionals (p-value <0.001). Conclusion: It is concluded that many mothers preferred to stop breastfeeding and weaned their children before the recommended age. The cessation of breastfeeding before the recommended age was observed among working mothers.

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