Knowledge, attitude and practice towards colostrum feeding among antenatal care attendant pregnant women in mekelle health facilities, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia, 2018

Background of the study: Colostrum is the first milk produced by the mammary glands of mammals in late pregnancy just prior to giving birth and continuing through the early days of breastfeeding. This special milk is yellow to orange in color and thick and sticky. It is very rich in proteins, carbohydrates, vitamin A and sodium chloride, but contains lower amounts of lipids, fat and potassium than normal milk. The aimof the present study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice towards colostrum feeding among antenatal care attendant pregnant women in Mekelle health facilities. Methods: The data were collected by using semi-structured questionnaire which contains variables as well as open and close-ended questions to 195 women who follow antenatal care were included in the study. An institutional based cross-sectional study design was conducted and the data was collected by systematic random sampling method. Results: This study found that 157 (80.5%) of mothers had information about colostrum feeding during pregnancy from various sources. One hundred seventy five (89.7%) of mothers have knowledge about advantage of colostrum feeding. Most mothers had positive attitude 67.2% about colostrum feeding and 71.8% agreed that colostrum is good milk for body growth and mental development of newborn. 93 (47.7%) start colostrum feeding within 1hour after delivery. Interpretation and conclusion: The findings of the study showed that many women had good knowledge 89.7%, positive attitude 67.2% & practice 80.5% about colostrum feeding, but the data still indicates further effort are required to improve knowledge, attitude and practice of colostrum feeding. So, there should be clear policy guideline to promote colostrum feeding as well as exclusive breast feeding.