| Summary: | The knowledge, attitude and practice of breastfeeding among mothers are crucial
in the preservation of breastfeeding culture in Malaysia. This research aimed to assess
the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of breastfeeding among pregnant mothers.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant mothers attending the Obstetrics
and Gynecology Clinics, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia using purposively
sampling. There were 153 respondents who completed a set of self-administered
questionnaires were included in the analysis. The findings showed that overall 76.5 % of
pregnant mother had achieved level of good knowledge regarding breastfeeding. The
study also showed that majority respondent had good knowledge about the benefits of
breast milk to infants and mothers, complimentary feeding, effective feeding,
colostrums, duration of breastfeeding and breast engorgement. More than half of the
respondent had good knowledge in practical aspects of breastfeeding (67.9%) and
problem with breastfeeding (62.7%). However, only 47% of the respondent had good
knowledge in aspect of breast milk expression. The main sources of breastfeeding
information were obtained from the mass media (41.2%) and through the antenatal class at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (26.8%). The results showed that 99.3% respondents had positive attitude toward breastfeeding. 38.6% of respondent practicing
exclusive breastfeeding and 62.1% continued breastfeed up to 2 year. The level of
practicing breastfeeding is high among 77.8% respondent. There was a significant
association in between knowledge and attitudes toward breastfeeding (i—0.338, p<0.05).
However, there was no significant association between knowledge and practice of
breastfeeding and also in between attitude and practice of breastfeeding. Knowledge
level is affecting the attitude toward breastfeeding and some types of breastfeeding
practice while attitude does not affect the practice of breastfeeding.
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