摘要：Background: Mother’s milk undoubtedly represents the best nourishment for the child during first months of life. WHO recommends breastfeeding to be initiated within 1 hour after giving birth. Early initiation of breast feeding has lifetime benefits for the mother and the child. In India, breastfeeding in rural areas appears to be shaped by the beliefs of a community, which are further influenced by social, cultural, and economic factors. Hence this study was undertaken to know the rate of early initiation of breast feeding and its determinants among Bangalore rural women. Material and Method: 160 lactating women were interviewed by house to house visit by simple random technique and were assessed as per the study objective by pre structured questionnaire. Result: As per our study 48.2% of the mothers were in the age group of 18 – 22 years and 12.50% of mothers were illiterates. Majority of the mothers were 96.3% (154) home makers. As per the number of antenatal visit the mean visits was 6.57. 62.5% of the mothers initiated breast feeding within 1 hour of birth and 96% of the women have given colostrum to their Newborns. Conclusion: 37.5% of newborns were not given breast feeding within first hour of birth, colostrum was not fed in 4.4% newborns, honey and other prelacteal feeds was given in 5.6% newborns.
