Introduction: In Malaysia, the National Breastfeeding Policy recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and continues to breastfeed up to two years. Consequently, Malaysia has managed to reduce the mortality rate for children under the age of five by 85% over the past 30 years due to initiatives were taken by the Government to promote breastfeeding. The aim of this study is to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice on exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in Muar.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was used to carry out the research and a set of validated questionnaire was used to assess data collection. The research involved mothers with a child aged from 6 months to 12 months, who have attended the primary health care centers in Muar.
Results: A total of 100 women, with children aged between 6 months and 12 months, from those attending the primary health centers in Muar were included in the study. Surprisingly, 53% of the mothers’ breastfeeding knowledge was excellent and 71% have a good attitude towards breastfeeding, however, 29% have a poor attitude on exclusive breastfeeding. Breastfeeding was practiced by 82% of participated mothers but only 52% practiced exclusive breastfeeding. There is correlation between knowledge, attitude, and practice of exclusive breastfeeding as the correlation coefficient; r is 0.999 which define that there is a significant relationship. The top two barriers of not practicing exclusive breastfeeding are insufficient breast milk produced (35.5%) and back to working life (34.7%).
Conclusion: Majority of the mothers in Muar have exercised a good knowledge, attitude and practice towards exclusive breastfeeding. There is a very strong correlation between knowledge and practice well as between attitude and practice. The main source of information for mothers regarding exclusive breastfeeding are healthcare personals. Whereas, insufficient breast milk is the greatest barrier to exclusive breastfeeding.
