Assessment of knowledge on baby-friendly hospital initiative (bfhi) among staff nurses in mch unit at mgmcri, Puducherry

The breast milk is very healthy and full of nutrition, it provides the primary source of nutrition fornew-borns before they are able to digest more diverse food. The breast milk also contains balanced nutrients that arerequire for brain development, growth and a healthy immune system that act against viruses, bacteria, and parasites, since an infant’s immune system is not fully developed until the age of 2 yrs.It is required to timely evaluate knowledge and to bring about positive attitude in the staffs regarding the implementation of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative policy. Objective: To assess the knowledge on Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative policy (BFHI) among staff nurses in the MCH unit at MGMCRI&H, Puducherry. Materials and Methods: Quantitative Research Approach, Non-experimental descriptive design. The population for the study consisted of 60 staff nurses from the Maternal and Childcare unit of MGMCRI, Puducherry. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire to assess the knowledge of staff nurses on the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). The data were analyzed both descriptive (mean, Frequency, Percentage and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Kruskal-Wallis). Results: Discussion on the findings were arranged based on the objectives of the study. The present study reveals that, among 60 staff nurses, 48(80%) of them had moderately adequate knowledge, 9(15%) of them had adequate knowledge and 3(5%) of them had inadequate knowledge regarding Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative Policy. Conclusion: The study reveals that most of the Staff Nurses had moderately adequate knowledge of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative Policy.