ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Although breast milk is considered the best source of nutrition for infants because of its superiority over powdered milk, there are circumstances when breast milk is unavailable. Committee on Nutrition of the Korean Pediatric Society conducted an investigation into the current status of formula feeding in Korea. METHODS: This investigation was conducted using questionnaires produced by our committee and distributed to mothers of children under the age of two who were using formula feeding at 10 university hospitals and 22 public health centers nationwide between March 1999 to September 1999. A comparative analysis according to location, birth order, mother's occupation, education, housing tenure and normal birth status was performed on all 2696 questionnaires using the chi-square test. RESULTS: Formula feeding was found in 49.4% and formula feeding combined with breast milk were 21.5% of the respondents. The percentage of formula feeding was higher in working mothers who underwent a Cesarean section in metropolitan areas. The inadequacy of breast milk was the most common reason for feeding powdered rnilk followed by the unhealthy condition of the mother and mother's return to work. Of those investigated, 94.9% said that they changed products at each stage as recommended by the manufacturer. Promotions for special formulas were more active in metropolitan areas than other areas, and 57.7M said that they used special formulas based on recornmendations by the doctor and acquaintances(15.5%) or after seeing an advertisement(14.0%). CONCLUSION: This investigation revealed that many rnothers were misinformed concerning formula feeding and pediatricians should provide mothers with education, shedding light on proper feeding methods.