Assessment of weaning practices among mothers for their infants attending the Pediatric Outpatient Department of Sindh Government Hospital Paretabad Hyderabad.

Abstract

General Objective: To assess the weaning practices among mothers for their infants those attending the pediatric outpatient department of Sind Government Hospital, Paretabad, Hyderabad.
Specific objectives:
1. To determine the age of onset of weaning
2. To determine the type of weaning food
3. To determine the level of education and its relation to weaning
Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted at Sind Government Hospital, Paretabad, Hyderabad, during
the period of 15th May 2008 to 15th June 2008. We had included all the patients according to the inclusion criteria
and did not do sampling. Data was collected by principal investigator herself on a pre-formed, pre – tested questionnaire about weaning practices among mothers for their infants. Respondents were mothers/care givers accompanying their infants who were interviewed in their own language to avoid inconvenience. The operational
definitions of variables were already set before the starting of data collection process. The study population included all new patients visiting in out patient department of Sindh Government Hospital Paretabad, Hyderabad
during the study period. The variables included the basic demographic variables i.e. age, residence, occupation,
education and socio-economic status of mothers, age of onset of weaning, type of first food given as weaning,
hygienic practices of mothers etc.
The exclusion criteria included prematurely borne infants, those revisiting OPD, and those who visited the facility
for acute medical problems that required hospitalization.
Result: Among 307 infants aged 3-12 months registered, males were 54.1% in comparison to females (45.9%).
The majority of the mothers visiting the facility belonged to slum areas (79.2%). Regarding maternal attitudes
and practices of weaning, 67 (21.8%) mothers considered cow’s milk as a weaning diet while majority of them i.e.
240 (78.2%) were of the opinion that semisolids were the weaning foods. About 24.8% mothers started weaning
earlier and only 47.6% of them started to give weaning food to their infants between ages 3 – 6 months. A strong
association is evident between socio- economic status of mothers and the use of commercial weaning foods
(p=0.01). The study concludes that there is a dire need of promoting among mothers the norms of giving proper
weaning foods to their infants.