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WEANING PRACTICES AMONG MOTHERS WHO ATTENDED EPI DEPARTMENT & ANTENATAL CLINICS IN ALLIED HOSPITALS OF RAWALPINDI MEDICAL COLLEGE

Year of study 2011

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BATCH : B

BATCH INCHARGE : DR. SIDRAH NASIM

YEAR OF STUDY : 2011

HOD : DR. ABIDA SULTANA

COMMUNITY MEDICINE DEPARTMENT

WEANING PRACTICES & THEIR DETERMINANTS AMONG MOTHERS WHO ATTENDED EPI DEPARTMENT & ANTENATAL CLINIC IN ALLIED HOSPITALS OF RMC

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07 Isma Nusrat27 Ayesha Saeed28 Ayesha Tariq33 Eishal Arshad38 Faiza Safdar51 Hira Islam94 Saba Andleeb96 Sadaf Rani101Samia Sarwar241 Sumaira Tufail 251 Tahira Sanaullah305 Ammara Amin

BATCH B148 Haider Ayub152 Hassan Iqbal200 Rashid Abbas206 Sajjad Hassan207 Sajjad Khurshid215 Shoaib Hassan216 Shoaib Rasool221 Umar Riaz

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Weaning is a gradual process starting around the age of 6months,because the mother’s milk alone is not sufficient to sustain growth beyond 6months.It should be supplemented by suitable foods rich in proteins & other nutrients. These are called supplementary foods[1]

Weaning period is the most crucial period in child development, for during the weaning process children are particularly exposed to deleterious synergistic interaction of malnutrition & infection.[1]

The WHO (2001) recommends exclusive breast feeding and delaying the introduction of solid foods to an infant’s diet until 6 months postpartum[2]

INTRODUCTION

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In an International study carried out in Nigeria, it was observed that women with a higher level of education and family income breastfed for a shorter period, and tended to wean earlier than the illiterate and low income group[3]

In a National study conducted in lahore(2006) shows that recommended weaning age was noticed in 84% while delayed weaning was seen in 16% infants. Timely weaning was noticed in breast fed infants as compared with bottle fed infants[4]

A Local study conducted in Islamabad showed that mother's education plays a vital role in increased receptivity to knowledge and awareness related to nutritional requirements of their infants.[5]

The present study is intended to assess the practices and determinants of weaning in mothers coming to Allied Hospitals of RMC. Results of the study will provide an added information to the concerned authorities about the current scenario and to respond accordingly to decrease infant mortality and morbidity through improvement in nutritional status of infants.

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OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To asses the weaning practices among mothers in Rawalpindi.

To estimate some determinants of delayed weaning among mothers.

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SUBJECTS & METHODS

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Type of study:Cross sectional descriptive study

Study Population: Mothers having babies upto age of 3 years

coming to Allied Hospitals

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Site of study: EPI department & antenatal clinic in the

allied hospitals of RMC(Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, District Head Quarter s Hospital of Rawalpindi)

Sample Size: 98Sampling Technique: Convenient sampling

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Inclusive Criteria: Mothers of children upto 3 years of age with

atleast one baby who has passed/is going through the process of weaning coming to Allied Hospitals of RMC.

Exclusive Criteria: Mothers who have babies but not started

weaning as yet.

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TOOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION:

A structured questionnaire approved by batch incharge was used for data collection (Annexure-1)

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ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Informed consent was taken from every mother prior to asking questions.

Confidentiality of information was ensured.

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DATA ANALYSIS:

Data was analyzed on computer using SPSS version 10.0

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RESULTS

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AGE GROUP OF MOTHERS

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PARITY OF MOTHERS

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EDUCATION LEVEL OF MOTHERS

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WORKING STATUS OF MOTHERS

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SEX OF CHILDREN SURVEYED

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ECONOMIC STATUS OF RESPONDENTS

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AGE AT THE TIME OF WEANING

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VARIETY IN WEANING FOODS

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TYPE OF FOOD PREFERRED FOR WEANING

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MILK SUPPLEMENTATION ALONG WITH WEANING

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INITIAL FEED GIVEN TO INFANT BEFORE WEANING

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PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH COMMENCEMENT OF WEANING

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AGE OF START OF WEANING IN RELATION TO EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF MOTHERS

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AGE OF START OF WEANING IN RELATION TO MONTHLY INCOME

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AGE OF START OF WEANING IN RELATION TO PARITY

parity of mothers

more than 4 children

3-4 children

upto 2 children

Pe

rce

nt

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

age at which weaning

before 6 months

at 6 months

after 6 months

4242

17 17

38

46

13

32

55

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AGE OF START OF WEANING IN RELATION TO OCCUPATION OF MOTHERS

occupation of mothers

w orking ladyhouse w ife

Pe

rce

nt

100

80

60

40

20

0

age at which weaning

before 6 months

at 6 months

after 6 months8

92

25

75

23

77

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AGE OF START OF WEANING IN RELATION TO SEX OF BABY

sex of baby

femalemale

Pe

rce

nt

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

age at which weaning

before 6 months

at 6 months

after 6 months

58

42

54

46 47

53

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AGE AT START OF WEANING IN RELATION TO INITIAL FEED

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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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This study reveals that incorrect weaning practices are still prevailing in our country .Delayed commencement of weaning had a considerable relationship with low level of education of mother, parity, low family income, occupation of mother and female sex of the baby.

CONCLUSIONS

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1. Provision of professional advice , exploring antenatal maternal misperception and health education of mothers are potential areas for targeted intervention to improve compliance with the recommended weaning practices.

2. Stress on promotion of easy home made foods for weaning to encourage working mothers to timely wean.

3.Awareness via media campaigns should be done for promotion of weaning .

RECOMMENDATIONS

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1.Time constraints due to Eid Holidays.2.Busy study schedule.3.Non-cooperative attitude of mothers.4.Eye class test on Thursday 8th sep,2011

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

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QUESTIONNAIRE

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REFERENCES

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1.Park K. Epidemiology of Communicable Diseases. Park’s Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine. 20th ed. India: Banarsidas Bhanot; 2009: 298-309.

2. Lipsky S, Stephenson PA, Koepsell TD .Breast Feeding and Weaning Practices in Rural Mexico.Nutr health 1994;9(4):255-63

3. Fagbule DO, Olaosebikan A. West Afr J Med. Weaning practices in Ilorin community, Nigeria. 1992 Apr-Jun;11(2):92-9.

4.Chadhry R, Humayun N.Weaning Practices and their Determinants Among Mothers of Infants.bio medica Jul-Dec 2007;23:120-4.

4. Liaqat P, Rizvi MA, Qayyum A.Association between Complementary Feeding Practices and Mothers Education Status in Islamabad. 2007 Aug;20(4):340-4.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We, the students of Batch B thank the department of Community Medicine for their input for the development of this research.

The Head of Department, Dr. Abida Sultana for providing us with the ambient environment, guidance and support.

Our Batch In charge, Dr. Sidrah Nasim for her patience and helping us throughout.

Presentation TitleTHANK YOU!!