The epidemiology of breastfeeding cessation in sub-urban Lagos, Nigeria

Two hundred and forty mothers in a sub-urban community in Lagos were studied. Respondents were women who had children 0 -- 24 months of age. They were largely married women of low educational and socioeconomic background. Breastfeeding is commonly practised in this community. Nearly all the mothers (92.4%) breastfed for longer than six months and a large proportion (71.5%) breastfed up to 12 months. The proportion of male infants who were breastfed for longer than 12 months was higher than that of the female infants (75% vs. 67%) although the difference was not statistically significant (X² = 1.77, p=0.279). Older mothers (#lt35 years) tended to breastfeed for slightly longer period than their younger counterparts. There was a significant inverse association between mothers' level of education and the duration of breastfeeding (p = .035). The major reason for stopping breastfeeding as given by 62 percent (149 mothers) was that the child was old enough. The next important reason for stopping breast feeding was that the mother had to resume work. The “insufficient milk syndrome” as reported from many cultures of developed and developing countries of the world has not yet affected the Nigerian suburban women and was not an important reason for stopping breastfeeding.