Early breast-feeding patterns in a Malaysian maternity hospital, 1980-1983
Kader, H.A.
Malaysian Journal of Reproductive Health a Publication of the Reproductive Research Centre of the National Population and Family Development Board Malaysia 2(2): 105-110
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0127-3213 PMID: 12280340 Document Number: 418527
The promotion of commercial infant formulas in hospitals making such formulas freely available to new mothers has been prohibited by a set of rules 1st enforced in Malaysia in 1981. This report studies the influence this development has had on infant feeding patterns among health mothers over 3 different time periods: the period before this code of ethics was enforced in 1980-1981 (29,401 cases); the period immediately after from June to December of 1982 (7,833 cases); and the last phase from January to April of 1983 (4,380 cases). Over the 3 phases of the study, choice of breastfeeding increased consecutively from 4.1% to 10.5% and finally 31.7%. Formula feeding increased also, from 1.5% to 2.0% and 2.4%. While mixed feeding was the most popular choice, its incidence declined from 94.4% in 1981 to 65.9% in 1983. Differences among ethnic groups were not statistically significant in the early studies, while in 1983 the incidence of breastfeeding among Chinese, Indians and Malays was 33.1%, 32.1% and 31.0%, respectively. For maternal age groups studied, the increase in breastfeeding was greater for the at-risk groups (mothers less than 20 years and over 35 years of age). This same trend was seen among parity groups, with at-risk groups being parity 1 and parity 5. When socioeconomic status was compared, all classes showed an increase in breastfeeding, but the largest increase was among the highest socioeconomic class. Although mixed feeding is still favored, there is a definitive trend toward breastfeeding, perhaps partly helped by the introduction of the code of ethics against free formula distribution in hospitals.