Infant feeding practices and morbidity.

ABSTRACT

PIP Over a period of 5 months, 510 infants were studied in the area of New Delhi. The mother was questioned directly with special attention being given to the number and types of episodes of morbidity along with a feeding history. The babies were studied in two groups community babies were visited at home within 4 days of birth and the hospital born babies were followed up upon in the Out Patient Department and Under- five Clinic of the LPJPN Hospital. Among the community group, the average family size was 6.1 and among the hospital group, it was 5.76. Close to 78% of the mothers in the community group were illiterate; 50.56% of the hospital mothers had been educated up until secondary school or college level. The incidence of morbidity was similar among both groups community group 8.16 episodes/child/year and hospital group 8.19 episodes/child/year. Breast feeding affected the incidence of morbidity in both groups. Among the group of infants who were breast fed, a 4.06 episodes/child/year rate of morbidity was experienced. Among the group of mixed fed infants this rate was 11.20 episodes/child/year, and among the group of artificially fed infants, this rate was 14.41 episodes/child/year. Poor bottle hygiene, sociocultural factors, low socioeconomic status, little parental education and large family size adversely influenced the rate of mortality among the infants studied.^ieng