Abstract :
Objective: To observe the effect of exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months in children in terms of mortality due to pneumonia.
Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based, prospective, observational study. Study was done in a tertiary care hospital. 300 children of both sexes between 2 months to 5 years of age were enrolled in this study according to WHO defined criteria for severe and very severe pneumonia.
Results: In the study, chances of getting very severe pneumonia was 4.1times more and mortality was 24.7% in the children who did not get exclusive breast feeding up to 6 months in comparison only 3.9% children died who had exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months.
Conclusion: Children who do not receive exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months are more prone to have more severe pneumonia and relatively higher chance of mortality.
Keyword :
Exclusive breastfeeding, Pneumonia, Mortality