Assessment of Knowledge Regarding Weaning Practices among Mothers of Gulab Devi Educational Complex

Breastfeeding is the process of feeding human milk to a newborn as well as some other type of formula milk or liquid or nonhuman milk. After 6 months, solid foods are introduced to the baby, known as weaning. Objective: To assess the knowledge of the mothers towards weaning practices of children up to 2 years of age. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Gulab Devi educational complex in Lahore. A sample of 100 respondents was taken from February 2022 to March 2022. Research questionnaires were used as a tool for data collection. Results: The mean age of weaning mothers ranges from 30-45, having 2-3 children. Most mothers from middle-class families living in the joint family system are postgraduate with no medical history. According to the results, 90% of mothers already had the knowledge. 56% of mothers introduce solid foods after the age of 6 months. 72% of mothers introduced rice and cereals as the �rst solid food to their babies. 74% of mothers think cow milk is not good for an st infant at 1 milk. 72% of mothers had knowledge about weaning start time. 54% of the knowledge about weaning mothers learns from their grandparents. Conclusions: Weaning is the fundamental element of the child and is important for health and development. So it is important that the mother should have knowledge about weaning, its start time and solid foods for weaning. The main outcome of the study was that most of the mothers of infants had knowledge regarding weaning diets. Results showed that 48% of mothers breastfeed their babies from birth until weaning. Most mothers already had information about weaning and its start time; they learn about weaning from their grandparents and get help from studying related books about weaning. 88% of mothers think that weaning time starts from 6 months. 74% of mothers think that cow milk is not good for an infant at 1st month. 56% of mothers introduce solid foods to their babies after 6 months and �rst introduce rice and cereals to their babies.


I N T R O D U C T I O N
Breastfeeding is the process of feeding human milk to a newborn as well as some other type of formula milk or liquid or nonhuman milk. After 6 months, solid foods are introduced to the baby, known as weaning. Objective: To assess the knowledge of the mothers towards weaning practices of children up to 2 years of age. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Gulab Devi educational complex in Lahore. A sample of 100 respondents was taken from February 2022 to March 2022. Research questionnaires were used as a tool for data collection. Results: The mean age of weaning mothers ranges from 30-45, having 2-3 children. Most mothers from middle-class families living in the joint family system are postgraduate with no medical history. According to the results, 90% of mothers already had the knowledge. 56% of mothers introduce solid foods after the age of 6 months. 72% of mothers introduced rice and cereals as the rst solid food to their babies. 74% of mothers think cow milk is not good for an st infant at 1 milk. 72% of mothers had knowledge about weaning start time. 54% of the knowledge about weaning mothers learns from their grandparents. Conclusions: Weaning is the fundamental element of the child and is important for health and development. So it is important that the mother should have knowledge about weaning, its start time and solid foods for weaning. The main outcome of the study was that most of the mothers of infants had knowledge regarding weaning diets.
Results showed that 48% of mothers breastfeed their babies from birth until weaning. Most mothers already had information about weaning and its start time; they learn about weaning from their grandparents and get help from studying related books about weaning. 88% of mothers think that weaning time starts from 6 months. 74% of mothers think that cow milk is not good for an infant at 1st month. 56% of mothers introduce solid foods to their babies after 6 months and rst introduce rice and cereals to their babies.  programs [8]. Moreover, delayed weaning may prove detrimental to the health of the baby as feeding on breast milk become insu cient for a four to a six-month-old child. It can also cause malnourishment [9]. Weaning is a challenging and potentially dangerous time for an infant's development, and the mother's education is a proven predictor of success [10]. Weaning starts when any solid food is introduced to the baby other than breast milk and ends when the last time baby is fed with the milk [11]. Weaning from nursing is considered a normal and necessary stage in a child's development. Weaning is a di cult procedure that requires adjusting to a variety of dietary, immunological, physiological, and psychological changes. Weaning can refer to the abrupt or nal end of breastfeeding or the start of a slow process of introducing supplementary foods to the infant's diet [12]. The beginning of supplementary feeding is seen as a window of opportunity for developing good eating habits in children and adults [13]. Complementary feeding begins with the introduction of meals with the consistency of porridge or soft puree, without brous parts to prevent activating the extrusion re ex, using a small smooth spoon delivered by a caregiver to the newborn. Baby-led weaning (BLW) is a method of introducing solid food to babies that allows them to self-feed at their own speed and choose how much and how quickly they eat from the food that is offered to them [14]. Complementary foods are commonly introduced between 4 and 6 months in pre-industrial populations, and breastfeeding is totally discontinued by 30 months; however, solid foods are introduced much earlier in some cultures [15].
The study aimed to assess the weaning practices among mothers of children up to 2 years of age visiting the Pediatric Department of Gulab Devi educational complex in Lahore. For this purpose, a sample comprises 100 females. The exclusion criteria study included children, teenage girls and older women. The inclusionary criteria include all women of reproductive age. Data were analyzed with the help of Microsoft o ce word and SPSS version 21.0. The questionnaire included questions related to weaning practices among females and their knowledge regarding weaning practices. The questionnaire was lled by the females responsibly. The questionnaires were sectioned into two subheadings, personal information and knowledge of weaning among young mothers. The rst section of the questionnaire measured the demographic properties of the respondent, while the second section of the questionnaire included 9 questions that covered the mother's knowledge.

R E S U L T S
The statistical studies showed that the research objectives answered were stated earlier. The tool for data collection was a questionnaire. A sample of 100 respondents was taken to assess the weaning practices among mothers. The questionnaire had sixteen questions, and it was divided into two sections personal information and knowledge. The results, in the form of tabulations, and their interpretations, for each individual question under the illustration of its section, are mentioned in this. The result of our data showed that most weaning women range from age 30-45 years. Most weaning mothers have children from 2-3 years. The result showed that most women from which we took data belong to middle-class status, almost 78 %. 60% of the mothers are living in joint families. 42% of mothers were postgraduates, 50% of the mothers were doing their job, and 96% of mothers had no medical history.   cow milk is not good for an infant in 1st month, and 26% of mothers think that cow milk is good for an infant in 1stmonth. Breastfeeding has been shown to be the safest and healthiest option for infants, and the vast majority of women think that doing so helps prevent their babies from sickness. However, 83.4% of mothers say they stop breastfeeding when they are sick. In 2018, researchers showed that virtually all moms thought human milk was superior to cow's milk and/or formula milk for healthy infant development. Many moms believe that breast milk is all their baby needs for the rst six months. When the mother is ill, three-quarters of moms would rather not breastfeed for fear of weight gain for their child. These are damaging ideas that may inspire the risky behavior of quitting cold turkey. Consistent health education is needed to combat and reduce the prevalence of such harmful beliefs [20]. According to the results of our study, almost 90% of mothers have information about weaning. The study of 2019 revealed that knowledge of weaning initiation time was relatively higher among mothers, just as represented by the stats of the questionnaire, where seventy-two percent of women are aware of the weaning practice.
Whereas the Indian research about the subject matter depicted the overall mother's mean knowledge score as 18.11 ± 3.37 [14]. Majority of women also have knowledge about women. The a rmative results prove it, while the survey conducted in Tor Sinai city has a nominal range of fty to seventy percent. It is noticeable the knowledge and practice of weaning are signi cantly co-related. Moderately aware mothers tend to practice weaning even if they have basic knowledge [21]. In study, it was concluded that 56% of mothers introduce solid food after 6 months. Approximately more than half of the mothers introduced solid foods to infants at the age of <6 months. The study by the American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing explained that it is sometimes due to early breastfeeding cessation. Most mothers cease baby feeding due to insu cient supply or nipple pain [17]. The popular weaning foods among mothers are rice and cereals. The cross-sectional studies have shown that mothers usually choose weaning foods according to the knowledge they have or what their elders tell them. Few mothers allow babies to pick according to their natural instincts without forcing them [22]. According to our questionnaire results, 48 percent of mothers breastfeed infants from birth until weaning. At the same time, 20 percent used formula milk. Comparatively, National Immunization Survey from 2019 to 2020 revealed higher rates of breastfed infants and currently, 83 percent are breastfed [23].

C O N C L U S I O N S
The rates of mortality and morbidity will rise due to the high C o n  i c t s o f I n t e r e s t incidence of nutritional disease in babies and malnutrition brought on by poor weaning. Therefore, it is crucial to carry out appropriate interventions to support the appropriate weaning behaviors. The study found that there are still mothers who are unaware about the knowledge of weaning or techniques which are good for child health and better development. Improving maternal care strategies throughout the prenatal and postnatal periods is necessary.
The authors declare no con ict of interest.
S o u r c e o f F u n d i n g The author(s) received no nancial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article