Breastfeeding is the primary basic right of infant. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is feeding infant
by breast milk alone, without any other ingredient for feeding the children. Aim of the study: to
evaluate the effect of prenatal counseling to overcome common maternal and infant obstacles
interfering exclusive breastfeeding among rural primigravida. Subjects and methods: Quasi
experimental research design (pre and post-test) was used to achieve the aim of the study. Setting:
This study was conducted at prenatal outpatient clinics in Minia university hospitals for obstetric
and pediatrics (MUHOP). Sample type: A purposive sample type was utilized, 50 antepartum
women who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Tools: Two tools were utilized in the current study for
data collection: Tool (1): Structured interviewing questionnaire includes demographic
characteristics of women (pretest) and Tool (2): Knowledge assessment About EBF (pre/posttest).
Results: Primigravida had poor knowledge regarding EBF, knowledge about how to overcome
common maternal and infant obstacles interfering with EBF (64.0%, 78.0%, 84.0%) before prenatal
counseling which decreased to (12.0%, 14.0%, 16.0%) respectively after prenatal counseling with
highly statistically significant differences. Conclusion: Prenatal counseling was effective in
improving women's knowledge about EBF, knowledge about how to overcome the common
maternal and infant obstacles interfering with EBF. Recommendations: Providing counseling for
working mothers regarding how to overcome barriers of EBF as their occupation may be interfering
with exclusive breastfeeding.