Breastfeeding practices for newborns among urban poor in Lucknow, northern India: A prospective follow-up study

ObjectivesTo describe evidence-based WHO-defined (exclusive, predominant, partial, never breastfed) breastfeeding patterns and the factors associated with them for neonates among urban poor in Lucknow, northern India.MethodsThis prospective follow-up study was conducted at two urban public hospitals at Lucknow. Neonates who did not have any morbidity or congenital malformation and were residents of Lucknow were enrolled within 48 h of birth and followed-up once at six weeks at the outpatients' clinic or home to assess established (voluntary) breastfeeding pattern.ResultsA total of 1020 neonates were enrolled from March 2007 to April 2008. Follow-up information on established breastfeeding pattern was available for 937 (91.8%) of the enrolled neonates. Rate of exclusive breastfeeding during the neonatal period was 26.4%, predominant breastfeeding was 28.7%, partial breastfeeding was 40.1%, and no breastfeeding was 4.7%. Potentially harmful weaning materials (animals' milk (35.8%), formula feeds (17.6%), water (48.1%) and other substances (teas/herbal drinks/juices/soups/rice water/mashed banana/etc (9.9%)) were being fed to 74% (95% CI: 70.7%–76.3%) of the neonates.Neonates born to mothers with no formal education, fathers with no formal education, whose mothers had fewer (<3) antenatal care visits, were born in Muslim families, were slum residents or were from low socio-economic status were significantly (p < 0.05) less likely to be exclusively breastfed than their counterparts.ConclusionThe proportion of neonates being exclusively breastfed was low at 26.2% (95% CI: 23.7%–29.4%). There is a need for promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for all newborns in urban Lucknow, northern India.