Infant feeding in an urban community

Two hundred randomly selected mothers were interviewed approximately 1 year post-partum to establish how they had fed their babies and the number of attacks of gastro-enteritis these infants had had; 129 of the babies were examined, primarily for their nutritional status. The majority of mothers (97%) began by breast-feeding and 50% were still doing so at 20 weeks. By 4 weeks 20% had introduced formula feeds. Although some mothers introduced solids very early, the overall pattern was very similar to UK data. The infants' mean weight and length compared well with the 50th centile on the Boston Growth Chart. Infants on prolonged breast-feeding were no better off nutritionally than those in whom breast-feeding was stopped before 12 weeks. It could not be demonstrated that prolonged breast-feeding in this community protected infants against gastro-enteritis, probably because few babies were exclusively breast-fed.