[How is breast-feeding valued in the urban and semi-urban Central African milieu?]

Efforts have been made for several years to promote the use of breast milk by mothers. This is important for mothers in developing countries faced with economic problems, especially for those tempted by milk substitutes. Fortunately, BF (breast feeding) is used by a majority of women in these developing countries, its practice is often influenced by an early introduction of supplements. Why this early supplementation? In order to answer this question we performed this study, a transversal survey of mothers in neonatal period in a regional town and the capital of Central Africa. The compilation of data of this seven month study, carried out in four maternities and nine SMI centers, was carried out from a pre-established questionnaire. This allowed us to obtain the following results. We interrogated 734 mothers of newborn babies aged between 14 and 45 years, including 534 in Bangui and 200 in Bossangoa. Breast feeding was chosen by 96.5% of mothers, however exclusive breast feeding was only carried out by 17% of mothers. Feeding on demand was widely spread both in Bangui (92.7%) and in Bossangoa (92%). Breast milk was the first food received at birth by 84.5% of newborn babies. At the neonatal period, water supplementation was more frequent (78.1%, including 23% at birth) than that of solid or semi-liquid food (6.2%). The value given to breast milk was just nutritional, its other virtues were not well known. Conclusion, In breast mil remains the food of choice in our country. However, its practice suffers from much ignorance. An effort should be made to heighten awareness and give milk its due worth.