[Infant weaning in the Hausa, Jerma and Fulani populations. Retrospective study of 268 mothers in the Department of Niamey (Niger)]

Abstract

Aiming to evaluate the impact of an official health campaign of information about how to prevent sudden weaning, the authors interviewed 268 African women in Niamey area: 69 Hausa, 102 Jerma and 97 Fulani. All of them had been pregnant at least 4 times. Nearly all (more than 95%) were illiterate. A private interview was systematically made with all of them in a vernacular language with interpreters (Jerma, Hausa) or without any (Fulani). In three groups, the mothers declared they were obliged to make a sudden weaning in 39 to 45% cases because they were pregnant again. Most of those women seemed to be convicted of this old tag that "Milk of a pregnant woman is poison and so is dangerous for the child". On the other hand they wouldn't believe that sudden weaning was responsible for malnutrition. For these 3 groups the infant death rate was high: 16,7 to 22.3% and 50% of deaths occurred after the weaning. Among these, the deaths happened far 50 to 73% cases in the six months after the weaning. When they were asked if one or more of their children died during the weaning period, absolutely all the women answered negatively. These data allow us to say: that the sudden weaning is an usual practice; that it is probably responsible for the death of many children, directly or not; that many women are pregnant before the theoretical end of weaning (24 months); that the health campaign of information have little weight against the mentalities and behaviours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)