Effect of antenatal counselling on early initiation of breastfeeding, an interventional study at two Federal Hospitals, Islamabad Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of antenatal counselling at term on early initiation of breastfeeding. METHODS: The prospective, questionnaire-based study was conducted at two state-run hospitals in Islamabad, Pakistan, from July to December 2016. One hundred subjects at the Federal General Hospital represented intervention group A and received special antenatal counselling regarding benefits of early initiation of breastfeeding, while 100 subjects at the Islamabad Polyclinic formed control group B and received routine counselling. Data was analysed using SPSS Version 20. RESULTS: Of the 200 subjects initially enrolled, 185 were included in the data analysis , 91 in the intervention group (A) and 94 among the control group (B) and Rest were excluded due to missing data. In group A, 46 (50.5%) women initiated breastfeeding within one hour of childbirth, while in group B 17 (18.08%) women did early inititation (p <0.001). CONCLUSION: Counselling was seen to be associated with early initiation of breastfeeding.