Breast feeding pattern in urban infants in Chandigarh

Breast feeding patterns in an urban resettlement colony of Delhi

Studies on duration and patterns of breast feeding based on recall may lead to a bias about the exact feeding status. The present study was designed to overcome this bias using the 'current status analysis method'. Mothers of 650 infants from 0 to 12 months of age attending a Health Centre were interviewed about the current feeding patterns of the infants and other socioeconomic variables. Month-wise prevalence of feeding patterns was determined. It was observed that breast feeding was maintained at a high level (more than 90%) throughout infancy while exclusive breast feeding showed a rapid decline. At 1 month, 74% and at 4 months, 46% of infants were exclusively breast-fed. The median duration of exclusive breast feeding was 3.83 months. Mothers with lesser education and lower family income were more likely to exclusively breast feed (p < 0.05). The time interval between birth and first breast feed was 24-48 hours in most (48.9%) of the infants. Majority (76.9%) of the infants received pre-lacteal feeds. Hospital-born infants received their first feed earlier and were less likely to receive pre-lacteal feeds as compared to those born at home (p < 0.001). Thus, the practice of exclusive breast feeding has to be promoted amongst pregnant and lactating mothers by health personnel. Also knowledge regarding infant feeding has to be imparted in schools and colleges.

Breast-feeding practices in rural Karnataka (India) with special reference to lactation failure

A survey was done in a remote rural area of Karnataka with a questionnaire. Overall 274 lactating mothers from a population of 10,000 were interviewed, to know the practices of breast-feeding with special reference to lactation failure. It was found that the majority of the mothers (97.09%) in rural areas breast-feed. Lactation failure is not a problem. 58.4% reject colostrum but know the advantages of breast-feeding while a small number of mothers (19.8%) start supplementary feeds by three months of age. However, 80.3% of mothers breast-feed up to 12 months. Burping (44.53%) and proper posturing (92%) of the child is not being practiced. Initiation of breast-feeding within 4-6 hours was noted only in 8.03% of mothers whereas 53.07% of mothers and 9.72% of mothers started sugar water and castor oil as prelacteal feedings respectively. It is interesting to note that grandparents (21.9%) and auxiliary nurse midwives (21.9%) are the chief influencers of breast-feeding.

Factors influencing prevalence of breastfeeding in a resettlement colony of New Delhi

Influence of some family and maternal characteristics on prevalence of breastfeeding was studied in a cross sectional study using WHO suggested methodology. 547 mothers with children less than three years of age were interviewed with the help of a schedule. Age and parity of the mother, sex of the child, length of urban stay, mother's going for work did not influence the prevalence of breastfeeding. Prevalence was higher among illiterate mothers and mothers belonging to lower socio-economic status. The mothers from higher socio-economic status initiated breastfeeding earlier. More mothers from higher socio-economic status and those with better education thought that supplementation was needed before the child was 4 months old and felt that breastfeeding was needed for less than two years.