Determinants of Early Initiation of Breastfeeding after Cesarean Section in aTertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Objectives: To assessthe determinants of early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF≤1 hr.) after cesarean section in a tertiary care hospital and to determine the perception of WHO breastfeeding recommendations among mothers.
Material and Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Post-operative ward of obstetrics department of Services Hospital Lahore. Duration of Study was (9 October 2022 to 9 January, 2023). Sample size of 246 was calculated. Sampling technique was used purposive sampling. All mothers who had cesarean section deliveries were included except terminally ill. Data was analyzed by SPSS 26 using Binary logistic Regression .
Results: Only 13.4% of mothers started breastfeeding within 1 hour after caesarean section. Adverse effects  of analgesics (opioids) on milk production and delayed skin-to-skin contact immediately after delivery
contributed for delay in EIBF.
Conclusion: Delay in EIBF is attributed to decreased production of milk due to analgesics(opioids used for labour pain ) and non-practicing of immediate skin-to-skin contact. Perception regarding breastfeeding among mothers was good.