Breastfeeding as a Primary Care Preventive Strategy towards Improved Child Survival

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the gaps towards breastfeeding awareness and practices amongst female college-going students (aged 18–25 years). Materials and Methods: This observational and questionnaire-based survey study was carried out amongst 300 female college-going students in Delhi from December 2020 to January 2021. Results: Knowledge scores ranged between 6 and 18 in the study population, with a mean score of 14.46 ± 2.20, while the attitude scores ranged from 30 to 75 with a mean score of 58.22 ± 6.96. Breastfeeding perception scores ranged from 3 to 15 for the study population where a low score indicated a positive perception of breastfeeding, with a mean score of 12.8 ± 1.6. The majority of the students (79.1%) intended to breastfeed in future. Conclusion: There is a need to address the prevalent myths and gaps in knowledge as well as awareness on certain aspects of breastfeeding, to promote breastfeeding.