An educational intervention on promotion of breast feeding

This study was designed to search for an effective method to promote exclusive breast feeding among Turkish city women delivering in hospitals. Four hundred and forty-two primiparae with uncomplicated deliveries and with healthy infants with birthweights of greater than 2500 g were exposed to a group educational session on breast feeding after birth, followed by one repeat session at home. Four hundred and ninety-nine women served as controls. All homes were visited monthly for 6 months by independent observers and data relevant to the feeding of the infants were collected. Weight measurements of 176 infants were taken at age 4 months. The study and control mothers were similar in sociodemographic characteristics which reflected a low socio-economic/educational background but relatively good housing conditions. Although significant differences in frequency of exclusive breast feeding were found between the study and control groups, the impact of the intervention was much lower than our expectations and short-lived. Type of feeding was not related to sex or birthweight of the infant, nor to maternal variables. Weight at age 4 months was within normal limits and similar in the study and control groups. It was concluded that lack of up-to-date information on infant feeding was the main obstacle to breast feeding in urban groups in Turkey, and that the impact of an educational intervention limited to the first week after delivery was lost within the first 2 months.