Early Initiation of Breastfeeding among Primiparous Women in Port Moresby General Hospital, Papua New Guinea

Background/Aims: Early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF), or breastfeeding within one hour of birth, promotes newborn survival and breastfeeding establishment. This cross sectional study aimed to find the proportion of primiparous women who practiced EIBF with their newborns, and whether delayed breastfeeding initiation was associated with pre- or post-lacteal feedings. Methods: Throughout June 2018, 148 mothers were interviewed soon after delivery in Port Moresby's tertiary referral hospital. Chi-square and t-tests were used to perform the comparison tests. Results: The prevalence of EIBF was 76% (n = 113). However, only 107 (72.3%) mothers were reported giving breast milk as their first and only early feedings in the ward. Unfortunately, 26 (17.6%) gave cow's milk (infant formula) feedings both before and after their initial breast milk feeding, while seven (4.7%) gave infant formula only as pre-lacteal feed and eight (5.4%) others provided formula feeding soon after their initial breastfeeding. Chi-square tests showed EIBF was associated with the condition where the infants did not receive any pre- or post-lacteal formula (p < 0.001) feeding. Moreover, t-tests showed that mean years of education of both mothers (10.3 + 2.9 y vs. 7.8 + 4.2 y; p = 0.013) and fathers (11.6 + 2.3 y vs. 9.8 + 4.2 y; p = 0.015) were significantly positively associated with the practice of feeding formula to their infants after, but not before, the first breastfeeding session. Conclusions: Although 72% of primiparous mothers practiced EIBF and EIBF was associated with the practice of not giving any other food or drink before or after the first breastfeeding session, several mothers who had higher level of education were more likely to request and give infant formula soon after, but not before, their newborn's first breastfeeding session. Provision of infant formula for early infant feedings in hospitals need to be reconsidered.