Nutrition survey in Tabasco, Mexico: patterns of infant feeding

Information on infant feeding was collected from 149 mothers of 744 children born over a period of 25 yr in an area of Tabasco, Mexico which has experienced rapid economic development. From 1953 to 1978, there was an increase in bottle-feeding, primarily as a supplement to breast-feeding, while the proportion of infants exclusively breast-fed declined from 69 to 48%. This trend was accompanied by a decrease in the average duration of lactation: the percentage of infants breast-fed 12 months or more declined from 73 to 45%. Mothers living within the area of an agricultural development project completed in 1973 were more likely to bottle-feed than mothers outside the project. The consequences of supplemental bottle-feeding for continued lactation, infant health, and child spacing require further investigation.