Exclusive breastfeeding: ignorance and beliefs in a rural community of Bangladesh
Ullah, M.A.; Sarkar, M.A.M.; Haque, M.J.
South Asian Anthropologist 5(2): 187-191
2005
Document Number: 322067
Nine hundred rural mothers from Rajshahi district of Bangladesh, having infants aged 6-8 months, were selected as samples for this study. The study estimates the proportion of mothers practising exclusive breastfeeding (EFB) up to 5 months of their infant's age, and identifies the barriers to breastfeeding. Only 7.9% of the rural mothers exclusively breastfed their babies up to 5 months. In this rural community only 59.0% used honey as prelacteal food. Nonavailability of breast milk just after birth was the common reason (44.0%) of the rural mothers for their introduction of prelacteal food. Majority (53.7%) of the rural mothers believed that water was essential for the survival of their children, which led them to supplement water within 5 months of their infants' age. It is suggested that social mobilization is needed to root out the misconceptions and misbeliefs among the rural mothers in Bangladesh.