Maternal prenatal attitudes and postnatal breast-feeding behaviours in rural Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationships between maternal breast-feeding intention, attitudes, self-efficacy and knowledge at 7 months' gestation with exclusive or full breast-feeding at 3 months postpartum. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with structured home interviews during pregnancy and 3 months after delivery. SETTING: Two rural sub-districts of Kishoreganj district, Bangladesh. SUBJECTS: Mother-infant dyads. RESULTS: Over 80 % of 2178 pregnant women intended to exclusively breast-feed (EBF). Maternal positive attitudes, self-efficacy and knowledge about breast-feeding were positively associated with EBF intention (all P<0.05). All mothers except one reported initiating breast-feeding and 99.6 % of children were still breast-fed at 3 months. According to 24 h dietary recalls, we categorized 985 (45.2 %) infants as EBF at 3 months (47.8 % among mothers with EBF intention; 31.7 % among mothers with no EBF intention; P<0.05) and 551 (25.3 %) infants as predominantly breast-fed at 3 months (24.2 % among mothers with EBF intention; 30.8 % among mothers with no EBF intention; P<0.05). Prenatal EBF intention was associated with EBF (OR=1.48, 95 % CI 1.14, 1.91) and with full breast-feeding (OR=1.34, 95 % CI 1.04, 1.72) at age 3 months. EBF at age 3 months was not associated with maternal breast-feeding knowledge, attitudes or self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Despite widespread expressed maternal EBF intention and universal breast-feeding initiation, prevalence of both exclusive and full breast-feeding at 3 months remains lower than WHO recommendations. EBF intention predicts breast-feeding behaviours, suggesting the importance of prenatal counselling to improve infant feeding behaviours.

Maternal knowledge, attitudes and self-efficacy in relation to intention to exclusively breastfeed among pregnant women in rural Bangladesh.

Achieving optimal exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) remains a challenge. Because intention is a precursor of practice, we examined factors associated with EBF intention during pregnancy in two rural sub-districts of Kishoreganj district, Bangladesh. We studied 2,400 pregnant women in their third trimester (26-32 weeks gestation). We assessed knowledge (6 items, scale range 0-6), attitudes (15 items, scale range 15-75) and self-efficacy (6 items, scale range 6-30) by interview using a standardized questionnaire. 83.9 % of pregnant women reported EBF intention. Mean breastfeeding knowledge was 3.5 (SD 1.3), mean attitude was 55.8 (SD 8.1) and mean self-efficacy was 25.6 (SD 3.4). Knowledge was associated with EBF intention (OR 2.47, 95 % CI 1.74, 3.51), attitudes toward EBF (OR 1.68, 95 % CI 1.31, 2.16) and self-efficacy (OR 1.72, 95 % CI 1.23, 2.40) were independently associated with EBF intention in the model in which all three constructs were entered simultaneously. Receipt of breastfeeding counseling during pregnancy and being literate were each associated with EBF knowledge and EBF intention (all p < 0.05). Increasing maternal knowledge, positive attitudes, and self-efficacy regarding EBF were associated with prenatal EBF intention. These results reinforce the importance of appropriate counseling to increase EBF prevalence .