Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Pre-Lacteal Feeding Among Mother Having Children Less Than 24 Month of Age And Who Visit Agena Health Center in Gurage Zone South Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: - A pre-lacteal feed is any food except mother‟s milk provided to a newborn before initiating breastfeeding. The early introduction of complementary foods before the age of six months can lead to displacement of breast milk and increased risk of infections such as diarrhea, which further contributes to weight loss and malnutrition. Objective:- to assess pre-lacteal feeding knowledge, Attitude, and Practice among mothers having children less than 24 months of age and who visit Agena health center in Gurage Zone, South Ethiopia, 2021. Methods: - facility based cross-sectional study conducted at Agena town from July to, November 2021. 238 number of mothers having children less than 24 months of age and visit to Agena health center will be selected by systematic sampling technique. After the data was checked for completeness, it was coded and entered into EPI Info version 7.1.2.0 and exported to SPSS version 20 software for analysis. Descriptive statistics was used like prevalence mean and standard deviation was computed. Finally, the analyzed data was organized and presented using tables, graphs, charts and narrative as per necessary. Results: The prevalence of pre-lacteal feeding practice was 21.8% in Agena health center. The common type of pre-lacteal feeding given was Cow milk; 27(13.2%) and the major reason were mother believed that breast milk only dose not satisfy the new born for growth. majority of the respondent have knowledge about pre lacteal feeding and its risk Conclusion & Recommendation: Pre-lacteal feeding is commonly practiced among mothers of children less than two years of age in Agena health center. This makes breast feeding practices sub-optimal in the study area. The most common types of pre-lacteal feeding were Cow milk; 27(13.2%) followed by formula milk 12(5.8%), and butter 10 (4.9%). Key Words: - Pre-lacteal feeding, Exclusive breast-feeding, Mothers, health cente