Infant feeding practices in the urban slum of Karad in west Maharashtra

Infant feeding practices have been studied amongst 181 women residing in a semiurban area of Maharashtra. Information on socio-economic status of the family with special reference to maternal literacy and occupation was collected. Data pertaining to the type of prelacteal feed, time of beginning of breast feeding, age at introduction and type of supplementary food were obtained. Instead of colostrum, 73.49% mothers used various inaugural feeds. Social factors viz, lack of education, poverty, lack of knowledge about the nutritional requirement of the infant and feeding of infants by elder sister or brother (foster mother) were the major determinants for erroneous feeding practices.     

Infant feeding practices among middle income urban Africans and Indians in Kenya

A longitudinal study conducted in Nairobi focused on 70 Africans, 35 Indian vegetarians, and 20 Indian non-vegetarians revealed significant differences between these 3 groups in terms of the choice of milk, breastfeeding duration, age of introduction of other foods to the infant's diet, and the choice of weaning foods. African mothers tended to exclusively breastfeed their infants for longer durations than either of the 2 groups of Indian mothers. At 6 weeks, 42% of African mothers, 19% of Indian vegetarian mothers, and no Indian nonvegetarian mothers were exclusively breastfeeding. Bottle feeding was widespread in all 3 groups; however, African mothers showed a pattern of mixed feeding (at 12 weeks, 68% of African infants were being fed both breast and formula milk), while Indian mothers tended to replace breastfeeding with bottle feeding (at 12 weeks, 10% of the vegetarian mothers and 19% of the non-vegetarian mothers were following this regimen). Indian nonvegetarian mothers made extensive use of formula, while their vegetarian counterparts relied more on cow's milk. All 3 groups introduced foods earlier than the recommended 4-6 months. By 18 weeks, 98% of African infants, 86% of Indian vegetarian infants, and 89% of Indian nonvegetarian infants were receiving semi-solid or solid foods in addition to milk. In all 3 groups, cereals were the most commonly introduced 1st food, followed by fruits and pureed vegetables. The use of commercial cereals was extensive, with 97% of African mothers, 90% of Indian vegetarian mothers, and 82% of Indian nonvegetarian mothers feeding such preparations to their 6-week-old infants. As the children grew older, use of commercial cereals decreased. Despite the differences in feeding practices, the pattern of weight gain was parallel for infants from all 3 study groups. Moreover, the mean energy and protein intakes of all 3 groups were 80% or more of recommended allowances.     

Infant feeding practices: 1984-85 versus 1977-78.

In 1979 and 1980 the Canadian Paediatric Society's Nutrition Committee published guidelines for professionals counselling mothers of infants on feeding practices. The practices in 1984-85 of mothers in Toronto were determined for comparison with the practices identified in a similar study conducted in Toronto and Montreal in 1977-78 to ascertain if practices had changed in favour of the recommendations. Between July 1984 and February 1985, 404 metropolitan Toronto mothers of infants were interviewed. Compared with the 1977-78 group of mothers, more of the 1984-85 mothers had chosen to breast-feed and fewer had stopped breast-feeding in the first month. As well, fewer of the 1984-85 infants had been fed unmodified cow's milk in the first 6 months of life and introduced to solid foods before 4 months of age. We conclude that major changes in infant feeding practices had occurred since 1977-78 and that the 1984-85 practices corresponded closely to the infant feeding guidelines.     

绵阳市母乳喂养现状调查与分析

目的 通过母乳喂养调查分析影响母乳喂养的相关因素,有的放矢指导提高母乳喂养率.方法 对绵阳市区内1 573名0～6个月婴儿的母亲及直接抚养的亲属电话回访调查.结果 有1 532名婴儿家属配合回访,回访率为97.4%.纯母乳喂养从1个月91%到4个月和6个月分别下降46%及25%.人工喂养从1个月5%到4个月和6个月分别上升12%及20%.影响母乳喂养因素:婴儿与母亲自身疾病因素占10.6%,而社会环境因素占89.3%.人工喂养婴儿患急性呼吸道感染和急性腹泻者高于母乳喂养及混合喂养人数,差异有统计学意义(P=0.000).结论 母乳喂养率与联合国儿童发展基金会(UNCEF)和世界卫生组织(WHO)要求的目标还有差距,必须大力宣传母乳喂养,改善影响母乳喂养的社会环境,促进儿童健康发展.     

Infant and young child feeding practices amongst children referred to the paediatric outpatient department

Background

Worldwide, sub-optimal breastfeeding still accounts for deaths of 1.4 million children aged less than five years. Optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices have been recognised as the most important intervention for improving child survival and development. Causal association has been found between exclusive breastfeeding with infection-specific infant morbidity and mortality.

Methods

A cross sectional study was undertaken to assess the IYCF practices among 100 caregivers of children aged less than five years, using a semi-structured questionnaire, attending the Paediatric OPD.

Results

Children from higher income groups were not given colostrum at birth. 57% mothers started breastfeeding within an hour and 88% of the mothers admitted to have given prelacteal feed. Healthy complementary food was found to be given by most of the mothers. Prevalence of infections was found to be higher (p < 0.05) in children whose birth weight < 2.5 kg and in bottle fed children.

Conclusion

Traditional beliefs and practices, besides lack of knowledge regarding current feeding recommendations, were found to have played an important role in the feeding practices. Creating an enabling environment for comprehensive nutrition education of mothers by health care providers is required.     

Complete coverage and covering completely: Breast feeding and complementary feeding: Knowledge,attitude, and practices of mothers

Background

Knowing current trends for timely comprehensive action for health promotion practices is an important prerequisite for medical practitioners and policy makers.

Sleep position and infant care practices in an urban community in Kuala Lumpur

Several modifiable risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) have been identified such as sleeping prone or on the side, sleeping on a soft surface, bed-sharing, no prenatal care and maternal ante-natal smoking. A cross-sectional survey of infant sleep and care practices was conducted among parents of babies aged below 8 months to determine the prevalence and predictors of non-supine sleep position and the prevalence of other high-risk infant care practices for SIDS. Of 263 infants, 24.7% were placed to sleep in the non-supine position and age of infants was a factor positively associated with this (adjusted odds ratio 1.275, 95% CI=1.085, 1.499). The most common modifiable risk factor was the presence of soft toys or bedding in the infants' bed or cot (89.4%). Results from this study indicate that although the predominant sleep position of Malaysian infants in this population is supine, the majority of infants were exposed to other care practices which have been shown to be associated with SIDS.