Practice of Mothers Regarding Health Promotion of Infants in Pokhara Metropolitan City

Introduction: Infancy is a crucial period of life. Most childhood mortality occurs in the first year of life. This study aims to assess the practices of mother regarding health promotion of infants in Pokhara Metropolitan City. Feeding practices and immunization practices are included in health promotion. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 190 mothers of the infant using a semi-structured interview questionnaire and analysis was done by using SPSS version 16. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Results: The study showed that nearly half (47.7%) of mothers initiated breastfeeding within an hour of birth, about one-third (37.9%) exclusively breastfed for six months and only a quarter (25.3%) of infants received appropriate complementary feeding. Mothers with low income (AOR= 5.810, 95% CI: 1.545- 21.852, p=0.009) and vaginal deliveries (AOR= 9.651, 95% CI: 4.379-21.268, p=<0.001) were more likely to initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth. Unemployed mothers (AOR =2.108, 95% CI: 1.011-4.397, p= 0.047) those with vaginal deliveries (AOR= 6.323, 95% CI: 2.880-13.881, p=<0.001) and from nuclear families (AOR=2.348, 95% CI: 1.251-4.408, p= 0.008) were more likely to breastfeed exclusively. Higher education (AOR= 4.342, 95% CI: 1.898-9.934, p=0.001) was linked to better complementary feeding practices. Almost all (97.4%) infants were fully vaccinated. Conclusion: The study highlights that while immunization practices among mothers were commendable, overall infant feeding practices were inadequate. Targeted awareness programs are needed to improve infant health by promoting proper feeding practices during antenatal and postnatal periods.