Abstract

PIP: 413 mothers attending maternal and child health (MCH) clinics located throughout Kowloon and Hong Kong Island were surveyed in the summer of 1983 to evaluate the impact of programs to promote breastfeeding and to facilitate understanding of other social, cultural, economic, attitudinal, or hospital factors which may influence the choice of infant feeding patterns among postnatal mothers. The interviews were limited to mothers who had given birth within the last 2 years. The mothers ranged in age from 17-42 years. Of the total sample of 413 babies, 116 (28.1%) had been breastfed at least once, and these infants were counted as incidence cases. Among these 116 breastfed infants, the duration of breastfeeding was estimated among 88 of the infants whose breastfeeding had ceased. The remaining 28 were excluded from the analysis because they were still young and breastfeeding was continuing at the time of the interview. The mean duration of breastfeeding was 10 weeks but about 1/3 of these babies had been breastfed for less than 1 week. 61% of the breastfed babies stopped breastfeeding after 1 month of age; only 11 babies had been breastfed for over 6 months. There was no difference in the incidence or duration of breastfeeding among male and female infants. The incidence of breastfeeding was found to be directly related to increasing levels of education in either parent. The middle income group had both the lowest incidence and shortest duration of breastfeeding in comparison with other groups. Although the incidence of breastfeeding was highest among the highest income group, only 11.1% had the infant breastfeeding for 7 or more weeks. Breastfed infants in the families with the lowest income level had some 51.7% of their breastfed infants feeding on the breast for more than 7 weeks. Approximately 30% of the mothers believed that breast milk was superior to infant formulas, and 2/3 of these mothers actually breastfed their babies. The lowest rates for breastfeeding (14.1%) occurred in hospitals where mothers and newborns were separated and the latter were fed on a scheduled basis. The most conducive environment was where infants were fed on demand and mothers and infants stayed in the same room.