Infant feeding patterns on Mauritius Island, 1991

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Nutrition Science
• Demographic Studies

Background:

• Infant feeding practices are crucial for child survival and development.
• Global health organizations promote specific breast-feeding guidelines for optimal infant nutrition.
• Monitoring infant feeding patterns is essential for public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess current infant feeding patterns in Mauritius using the 1991 Contraceptive Prevalence Survey (CPS).
• To evaluate adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) breast-feeding indicators.
• To identify trends in breast-feeding incidence and duration compared to previous surveys.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the 1991 Mauritius Contraceptive Prevalence Survey (CPS).
• Inclusion of a special module on infant feeding patterns.
• Assessment using WHO indicators for exclusive breast-feeding, timely complementary feeding, and continued breast-feeding.

Main Results:

• Breast-feeding incidence decreased from 86% in 1985 to 72% in 1991.
• The duration of any breast-feeding remained constant at 13.6 months.
• Low rates observed for exclusive breast-feeding (16% for 0-3 months), timely complementary feeding (29% for 6-9 months), and continued breast-feeding (27% for 12-15 months).

Conclusions:

• Mauritius shows declining breast-feeding rates and suboptimal adherence to WHO guidelines.
• Early introduction of complementary foods is prevalent.
• These patterns may foreshadow similar trends in other African and Asian countries, necessitating targeted public health strategies.