%A Singh, Pallavi %A Kumar, Rajesh %A Meena, Gajendra %A Lal, Panna %T Prevalence and Determinants of Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Children Less Than Two Years of Age in a Rural Area of Delhi, India %9 Original Article %D 2019 %J International Journal of Health & Allied Sciences %R 10.4103/mamcjms.mamcjms_133_21 %P 144-148 %V 8 %N 2 %U https://www.ijhas.in/article.asp?issn=2278-344X;year=2019;volume=8;issue=2;spage=144;epage=148;aulast=Singh %8 May 1, 2019 %X Context: Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life is highly beneficial to the child. Unfortunately, it is frequently not practiced among women due to a lack of knowledge. Aims: The study aims to to find the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding among children aged less than 2 years of age and to study the factors influencing the practice of exclusive breastfeeding among the mothers of the study participants. Methods and Material: The design was a community-based cross-sectional study. Between January 2019 and January 2020, we enrolled 190 children aged less than 2 years of age and their mothers residing in a rural area of Delhi, India. We collected baseline sociodemographic data and details of feeding practices followed using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. To measure association, the chi-square test or Fischer exact test was used. Statistical analysis used: Collected data was entered into MS-Excel and analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences – 25 for descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Of the 190 participants with complete information, 74 were under 6 months of age and it was found that 57 (77.0%) of those were exclusively breastfed till their present age. The remaining 116 children were aged between 6 and 23 months and the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in these children was found to be 55.2% (64). The mean duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 5.75 ± 1.79 months. The age of the child was found to be statistically significant with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding (P = 0.01). Conclusions: The exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months of age was practiced only by approximately half of the mothers. %0 Journal Article %I Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications %@ 2278-344X