Infant feeding and weaning practices in some semi-arid rural areas of Rajasthan
Singh, M.B.; Haldiya, K.R.; Lakshminarayana, J.
Journal of the Indian Medical Association 95(11): 576-578; 590
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-5847 PMID: 9567585 Document Number: 472843
Infant feeding and weaning practices were investigated in a survey of 328 mothers living in 38 villages in the semi-arid Jaipur district (Rajasthan State, India). 81% of mothers were illiterate and 65% were engaged in agriculture or livestock. Only 23% of mothers initiated breast feeding within 24 hours of delivery and 77% discarded colostrum, depriving their infant of important nutrients. More common was the withholding of breast milk for the first 2-3 days of life. 65.2% of mothers gave jaggery water as a prelacteal feed; another 33.2% offered tablets containing jaggery, ghee, and ajawain. 9.1% of mothers introduced supplementary foods before 3 months of age, 15.6% of mothers introduced these foods at 3-6 months of age, 36.0% began supplementation at 6-12 months, and 24.1% waited until after 12 months of age. The mean age at food supplementation initiation was 8.7 months--far beyond the recommended time of 4-6 months. The most common supplementary foods were milk, rabadi, rice, and roti. Most mothers breast fed for at least 2 years (mean age at weaning, 27 months), in part because of poverty and in part due to inadequate knowledge of child nutritional needs. During prolonged breast feeding, mothers did not increase their own caloric intake. The feeding practices identified in this study are presumed responsible for the high rates of malnutrition among infants and preschool children in the area. Village-level educational programs on infant nutrition are recommended.