Early termination of breast-feeding in periurban Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: mothers' community perceptions and personal practices

ABSTRACT

The objectives of this study were to determine 1) whether mothers' perceptions of typical community practice for breast-feeding duration influence their personal practices and 2) whether the mothers' reports of community reasons for terminating breast-feeding identify barriers not elicited through self-report. The study was conducted in 1997 in a sample of poor neighborhoods in a periurban district of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. A representative sample of 220 mothers from these neighborhoods was interviewed with a structured questionnaire. While the duration of the brest-feeding was similar for self-report and for mothers' perceptions of typical community practice, there was no statistically significant correlation between these two variables. "Mother-driven" reasons for early termination of breast-feeding, such as "fear of loss of figure or breast shape" and " not wanting to breast-feed" were frequently perceived as community reasons but rarely given as personal reasons. Personal reasons were predominantly "child-driven," including " the child not wanting the breast," or reasons beyond the mothers' control such as having "insufficient" milk. Maternal report of community reasons for early termination may be a useful way to identify factors that would not otherwise be revealed on self-report. These additional reasons may guide health promotion efforts aimed at increasing breast-feeding duration (AU)