[Artificial feeding practice in nursery: a new policy and maternal response]

While a single-bottle method is what mothers actually do in preparation of infant formula in their own home, in the hospital, each nursery makes its own rules about preparing formula. Early in 1988 a "self-service", artificial feeding practice was initiated in this 600-bed general hospital. Mothers who intended to bottle-feed were asked to purchase the powdered formula at their own expense. At feeding time, mothers prepare one bottle of formula at a time, and feed the infant immediately. Each mother's technique of formula preparation was observed by the nurses, and practical instructions were given if needed. Particular errors and hazards in the reconstitution of formula were emphasized with posters hung on the nursery wall and by the pamphlets distributed to the mothers. These practices avoid distribution of formula samples at the hospital, and provide repeated practice for mothers during their hospitalization. To explore the attitudes of mothers toward this new feeding practice, a questionnaire survey of 483 consecutive mothers who gave birth to healthy newborns was carried out. While 61.3% of the mothers thought that it was acceptable to purchase infant formula themselves, 85.1% thought preparing the formula themselves in hospital was acceptable. Furthermore, only 1.2% of the mothers said that this new practice was a great deal of trouble. Most mothers said that on-the-spot teaching by nurses was very helpful. Regarding overall attitudes, 5.4% and 2.1%, respectively, will not or may not return for the next delivery. After controlling for several socio-educational variables, only previous experience with bottle-feeding was associated with pro-and-con responses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)