These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Infant feeding and weaning practices in some semi-arid rural areas of Rajasthan.
    Author: Singh MB, Haldiya KR, Lakshminarayana J.
    Journal: J Indian Med Assoc; 1997 Nov; 95(11):576-8, 590. PubMed ID: 9567585.
    Abstract:
    The paper contains information on infant feeding and weaning practices in the rural communities of a semi-arid district of Rajasthan. The findings have been drawn from a recent survey of 328 rural mothers. The rural women of this area are found to believe in old deep seated beliefs and customs, which in turn deprive their infants from advantages of colostrum (77% discarded colostrum) and nutritionally rich supplements, which otherwise should be supplemented to them at any cost in order to keep them healthy. The practices of prolonged breast feeding and delayed supplementation to infants are rampant in this area. Mean age at weaning (27.1 months) again not only affects the health status of mothers and their children but also leads to the undernutrition among both. The findings of the study necessitate to evolve an exhaustive educative programme dealing with various aspects of infant feeding and weaning practices, keeping in view their traditions, so that the useful practices can be encouraged and harmful ones be prohibited. 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.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]