Abstract

PIP: A survey of infant feeding practices and infant morbidity and mortality was conducted in 1975 among the Igbo women of Owerri, Nigeria. The random sample 508 persons consisted of mothers who attended the Infant Welfare Clinic, the Prenatal Clinic, or the general hospital clinic and of mothers who were selected in a household survey. Major finding in regard to infant feeding practices were 1) 94% of the mothers breast-fed their babies for at least 6 months and the average duration was 10.8 months; 2) breast feeding duration decreased with the education level of the mother; 3) 82-87% of the mothers believed that breast-feeding was preferable to bottle feeding; 4) Igbo women considered breast-feeding a natural activity and were opposed to artificial feeding; 5) supplementary feeding was initiated by 85% of the mothers between the 3-7 month and supplementary foods were frequently prepared and given to the child under unsanitary conditions; 6) after weaning the child was expected to eat the same foods as the rest of the family; and 7) the diet provided for children after weaning was in general deficient in proteins and was prepared in unsanitary surroundings. By the time the infants were 6 months old, 20% of the children had at least 1 episode of diarrhea, 1 out of every 11 were hospitalized at least once, and 5% had bronchitis. The high morbidity rates were attributed to some extent to the unsanitary methods involved in providing infants with supplementary foods. The deficient diet after weaning also contributor toward a high rate of diarrhea, gastro-entritis, and bronchitis among children living in the areas. Major findings were presented in descriptive tables.